I've always known there is a reason why children in the States and hi-tech cultures around teh world are reading less: electronic forms of entertainment, e.g., the television, including the invention of multiple cable and/or satellite stations, on-demand, DVDs, and the worse offenders VIDEO GAMES!
These same culprits can be blamed on why children are more obese as they spend less time outdoors. Some kids only exercise during the one time during the day or week they spend in physical education.
I remember when we were kids we'd spend hours outdoors, well past the street lights coming on. Our parents would have to come looking for us b/c we were busy exploring the neighborhood, collection animals and rocks, rollerstaking on the concrete sidewalks or spending time READING in the LIBRARY!
It was a pleasure and joy to get lost in the "reading cave" and the library curled up taking in book after book until the place closed. Granted, we didn't have the same access because cable was still a new invention and we weren't one of those lucky few to have a Commodore computer. Even years later, when my parents could actually afford to get us a video game console, I recall my dad being ADAMANT about not having us turn into those other kids who were glued to the video game TV screen and so he NEVER EVER got us one for those reasons.
These days, just like why it is important not to let your kids get too much into junk food for the fear they will give you a hard time trying to feed them healthy fare, the same goes for why kids shouldn't be introduced to electronic forms of education.
Why didn't I take a clue from what my dad taught me and let C-boy go down that slippery slope??? ....
On Demand Television:
C-boy watches his favorite program when it comes on television for only one hour per day. However, since he discovered the series is available "on demand", he asks to see other episodes beyond his alloted one hour. If he is a good boy or we are not up to fighting or are busy doing something else, we'll oblige him.
Video Games: The boy loves all things related to cars and last year, we bought him a joystick video game that had among other fun vintage arcade games like pac man, but also pole position cargame attached. Certainly, it is a primitive version of today's high tech car race games. Nonetheless, he loved it. Later, he discovered online car games (more akin to today's speed and quality of car racing games) which we let him play at first for a short while during the week and later only on weekends when he developed a near obsession over them. His compulsive personality would make him derangely attached to the computer and we couldn't get him to do anything else. Every once in a while, when he is a good boy, we may take him to the local laundromat to play with the video games there.
Sony Playstation 2: I got this for Trinihubby a year or so back and as a treat one day, we got a couple of games for C-boy so he and his dad can play. For Christmas this year, he got two more games.
WELL, today I got TOTALLY frustrated and REALLY BEGAN to appreciate WHY IT IS SOOO IMPORTANT TO NOT ALLOW YOUR YOUNG CHILDREN GET TOO ENGROSSED IN ELECTRONIC FORMS OF ENTERTAINMENT.
C-boy wakes up, eats breakfast and then takes off to play with the car game on the Sony Playstation. After getting bored with that, he played with both of his race tracks. Then, he came up for lunch and after lunch he was "bored" again. He asked me to install the joystick onto the laptop computer so he can play video games on the computer. I had lost the driver disk so went online to download the driver so the computer can recognized the joystick hardrive. I decided to download the software on the family computer because C-boy has infected my "work" computer one too many times with viruses found on those gaming sites.
Anyway, the process of downloading took time, because the family computer is older and slower and at the same time, I am trying to pay bills, do some mailings, respond to emails and get a little work done on my nearby work computer. That boy KEPT NAGGING ME to about how the process was coming on getting the joystick to work. Finally, after losing my cool, I yell at him to go to his room and READ BOOKS! GASP!!!
The PROTEST!!
it was like I told him to eat dirt. Finally, I said, "read your books or take a nap." I guess a nap is worse than reading b/c he picked up a couple of books, but then he didn't read them. He even grabbed the electronic computer-like learning toy "Santa" got for J-boy for Christmas instead of reading his book.
We have reading exercises that we do when school is in session, but we tried to ease up for the Christmas break, but looks like we may have to try to work on making reading more fun during the day and not just at bedtime. *SIGH*
I'd like to have a child who has a natural love of learning and books. I should' have seen this coming considering how much he hated going to pre-school and pre-kindergarten, and now how he prefers electronic entertainment over REAL PAPER books!
*BIG SIGH*
5 comments:
Well you might have a child who develops a love of reading ONLINE! lol It is a slippery slope isn't it? We require educational computer time (starfall.com is the current favorite) before EBoy is allowed to play any entertainment type games on his computer.
Our newest tv issue is not in the house but in the car! Both EBoy and ETot whine to get a movie every time they get in there so we have now restricted dvds to long trips only. Who knew technology would be such a major hurdle in parenting.
ZB is big time into "Screen time" so I have to seriously limit it for him. 30 min to an hour a day for tv and computer combined, and no video games during the week. I tell him there are no limits on how much reading he can do though, heh. I can also be heard yelling on the weekend "why don't you go read a book, learn about how to design the game you want to play!" With my love of reading, I find it hard to understand everyone doesn't feel the same way!
As a little girl reading was my absolutely most favorite thing to do so I'm trying to encourage my 2 girls to love books and reading too. They both like to read (even the 2-yr old who, once she's heard a story once will improvise with what she remembers and the help of the pictures) and we make regular trips to the chldren's library when they have storytelling.
So far the 4-yr old has only been introduced to educational computer games sporadically. But wish me luck because I need her to do more since somehow she always get "tired" when working on paper. Hmph!
(I found your blog thru Fashionista's site.)
I just wanted to say I love your blog. Congrats on your new arrival. I have a 3yr old DD and girls are sooo much fun especially shopping for all the fab clothes.
This is the exact reason why I haven't introduced mu daughter to the computer "officially". I have a hard enough time getting her away from the tv. And with me being in school at nights my mother was letting her get away with WAY too much TV.
She LOVES our trips to the local library so that's good, I'm trying to keep that excitment going. Books were and still is a major part of my life growing up. I can spend hours in my bathtub with a good book, have stayed in bed all weekend reading a good book, I need her to have the same passion for books, so far so good.
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