“Get Off the Computer!”
I must admit I told my son to get off the computer three or four times yesterday, just like Jolene Ivey, a mother of five sons and Democratic member of the Maryland House of Delegates. She buys her children outdoor toys and they don’t have video game systmes in the house, but her nine-year old’s preocupation with the computer is “enough trouble.”
I’m still talking about the Washington Post. article “Getting Lost in the Great Outdoors” by Donna St. George. I’ll stop writing about it today, but it has been endlessly fascinating to me. I hope others will read it.
According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, children 8 to 18 spend 6.5 hours a day on television, electronic games, computers music and other media, with many multitasking electronically. This is outrageous! This is disturbing!
Marguerite Kondracke, president of America’s Promise Alliance, said the change in how children spend their leisure time is more dramatic than most people recognize and can lead to problems such as obesity and depression.
“I believe this has happened so gradually,” she said, “that we as adults don’t realize what’s taken place . . .I think we as a nation need to wake up to this.”
Wouldn’t it be nice to routinely say to our kids, “Stop playing outside!” I think we as parents need to consciously work toward this.
Leave a Reply