阅读理解 The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) just released its updated guidelines for children's media use.
The recommendations reflect what all parents instinctively know: children need less screen time. The corollary, of course, is that they desperately need more free time to ignite their imaginations, develop a sense of wonder and discover their passions and purpose.
While we at Melissa & Doug are thrilled the AAP has created stronger guardrails and suggestions to help parents navigate this challenging terrain, this is only the beginning. Our children are overstimulated, over-scheduled and under pressure to perform academically and beyond school. This diminishes their ability to build creative thinking skills essential to self-discovery. Inventiveness occurs when kids have time for curiosity and exploration. With children spending up to eight hours a day on media devices and additional hours engaging in scheduled activities, opportunities for growth are stifled.
What we are not sure about is how to get our kids to want the free, screenless time we know will benefit them. It may sound counter-intuitive but today's kids (and, frankly, many of us) need coaching to experience and discover the benefits of free time.
What came easily to parents a few decades ago has become a challenge for our generation. It's not that yesterday's parents knew more about child development; they simply had fewer options. Boredom and downtime were an inescapable part of daily life. Today, boredom and downtime are synonymous with, "I'm bad parent and not doing enough to get my kid ahead."
Recently, I had an eye-opening revelation while watching my 11-year-old daughter play in a softball tournament. I have six children and have attended dozens of such tournaments. I know the drill — or thought I did. Families settled in for the day with lawn chairs, coolers, sunscreen and siblings in tow. These spectator brothers and sisters would gradually gravitate toward each other. Games of catch and hide-and-seek began; friendships were formed in the span of an inning. At crucial moments, the newfound friends turned their collective attention to the field to cheer on their teams.
Bu that was not happening. Though there were at least 15 children by the sidelines, I did not hear any of them. They sat in a silent huddle using their individual tablets. Even with the score tied in the final inning with runners on base, not a single child watched the game or spoke to each other. The situation was surreal and revealing: Kids have more planned activities and passive entertainment at their fingertips than ever before, but less free time to dream, make-believe and focus on what they truly love.
I get that making time for "nothing" is difficult in a world where we're constantly worried our kids will fall behind if they don't excel in sports and academics or rack up "likes" on the latest social media app.
But I refuse to sit back and watch this loss of childhood. We are taking back childhood. Imagination needs time and space to blossom.