Children's loss and media's gain

The average time a ten year old child spends in surfing the net, telephoning or playing games in the smart phone or watching television or playing computer games has gone up to about four hours a day during the week days and six hours during the week end, according to a group parents I met with to discuss about obesity in children. This means that, most of the free time outside the class room, is now spent engaging the electronic media. These children know a wide range of facts and have an advanced processing skills.

The department of Developmental Paediatrics and Child Neurology, where I work, organised a painting contest last month for five schools in the town of Kolencherry. We have just completed  scoring the art work. The judges were concerned about a below average drawing and painting skills, and a decline in the expressiveness of middle school and high school children .

In a story writing contest, we came across, the theme of violence was the common theme. Anna and I were sitting in the next table, to a group of teenage children in a restaurant. During the forty five minutes we were  there, their conversations were about movies, computer games, malls and fast eateries they visited in Ernakulum city.  I notice that some parents give their mobile phone to quieten a child, when he cries. The youngest child I saw engaged playing with a mobile phone as a toy was only seven months  old. When it was taken away he cried and the parents consoled him by returning the phone to him.   

A family who came to consult, helped me to be aware of the creative ways some families resort, to keep the flame of creativity alive in their children, one a teenager and and the other a middle schooler. I was particularly encouraged by the way they have a regular plans for their middle school going daughter.  One of the parents reads to her regularly for about a hour and sits with her when she uses the computer to allow conversations and clarifications. The other parent would find time for outdoor or indoor games for her at least three days in a week. She attends a music lesson, swims at least once a week and is a member of an elocution club and painting tutorial class. 

Seeing how this girl is enjoying a variety of experiences, the teenage brother is currently re-discovering his interest in reading, athletics, choral singing, and joins in regularly to listen to the bed time reading to his sister. The other day, he brought the book of short stories of Tolstoy from his school library and asked his father whether they can read this book together. At the end of this sharing the parents were in tears. They had not planned well to regulate his leisure time when he was growing up. 

Most children respond to the efforts of parents to keep the creative flame alive in them. 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)