Gen Z, Millennials & Boomers

 

Photo credit: Pinterest

Millennials and Boomers can attest to the fact that growing up was quite different in comparison to this present generation. 

With the advent of technology, raising children has significantly varied, both positively and negatively. 

Way back, children had fun differently, there were games like hide & seek, Game box, our-grand-mother, moonlight drama, and storytelling, etc. Then, as children, when we embarked on journeys with family, we savored the journey by staring outside the bus/train’s window, mentally absorbing the journey, thereby enculturating life skills such as observational skills, curiosity, and patience.

  

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Photo from ‘Howstuffwork.com’

During these occasions, there is also the transfer of knowledge from one generation to another, as parents would often tell stories during journeys, and answer questions about objects and places pointed to them by their children. This way, kids get to learn more about their environment and acquire knowledge that oftentimes cannot be found on the internet. 

But with the advent of new digital technologies and gadgets, this has vastly changed. Children tend to have become even more distant from that bonding which the other preceding generations had. Children now stay on their phones and gadgets all day, distancing themselves from people and their environment.

I once visited a home where the mother, who was working from home at the time, would often place her one-year-old child in front of the massive Tv screen, watching cartoons. She did this repeatedly with the aim of engaging the child whilst she focused on her work. Also, on occasions when she goes out with the kids, a phone playing the child’s favorite cartoon is placed above the child, as she lays in the boogie at the backseat of the car.

I couldn’t help but worry. I worried about the amount of screen time this toddler is allowed to have. And how much damage this screen time can potentially cause to her tender eyes.

For the last few months, I’ve had the most part of my studies online, and I’ve watched my eye health dwindle drastically as a result of longer screen time, even as a grown adult, talk more of toddlers.

I was in the middle of writing this article when I came across news broadcast by the BBC and by other sources as well (see here, and here), stating that research from ophthalmologists show how children’s eye-health have drastically deteriorated resulting from longer screen time, precipitated by the pandemic.

Not only that, children’s cognitive development is in a regressive state according to research. As Dr Sheri Madigan, a lead researcher puts it: “We know that a lot of the positive stimulation that helps kids with their physical and cognitive development comes from interactions with caregivers,” “When they’re in front of their screens, these important parent-child interactions aren’t happening, and this can delay or derail children’s development'”(more here…).

Being an intern at The Winch for the last 8weeks, I have seen kids build creativity in various unique ways. Through programs like Transitions and Play, children’s ability to think and visualize, observe, build patience with themselves and with life, and also their ability to socialize with others, are skillfully developed. Rather than have your child affixed to a screen, it makes more sense to bring them to such an environment. Hence, I absolutely recommend a place like The Winch for kids and young people. 

I hear people say this generation is an “impatient generation” and I can see in many ways how that is true, but at The Winch, your child is guaranteed to learn the basics skills for life’s survival.

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