Modern day children's issues

[Boudica]

Children in this day and age continue to be less and less interested in being physically active in some way or another. (Keep in mind I don't know if this is an increasing phenomenon in other areas besides America and GB) It is remarkable to me how many young boys I see playing games which are rated M (rated R for video games).. These particular games are full of very realistic blood shed and involve the person playing as a human being, killing other beings in practically anyway they wish..

So many young children play these types of games.. I recall one claiming to be 6 years old before. How much they play the game is viewable as well.. Lets just say that I find it a bit discomforting to see that a 7 year old child plays such a game for a total amount of over 48 hours in a single week..

What has happened to kids, let alone childhood in general? When I was at this age I was outside with my friends, involving myself in some sport, or just being active in general. The last thing that was on my mind was spending my entire day playing a video game or watching TV. Childhood is completely different then it used to be for many children. Now a days, children are being exposed to things they are not meant to be practically everywhere they turn, and in my opinion, these things are harmful.

What are your views on this? Why has 'childhood' changed over time in such a drastic way? Discuss

[rhiannon]

Good post Boudica! I certainly hope the parents on this forum post in here since we are dealing directly with these issues on a daily basis.

I've learned a few things over my life about these issues, largely because I became a mom so young (19), and because of my healthcare background:

fact: Kids ARE more sedentary now than ever before, this reflects itself in the increased incidence of childhood obesity we are seeing today.

fact: Excessive exposure to violence via TV/computer/videogames has been shown to desensitize children to violence as a rule. This means, it won't affect them as much if they see it happening to someone in real life.

Yes, children today are engaged in things that are very different than generations past...and it's slated to get worse because our whole society has become so dependent on electronic media. Kids in school anymore are required to have computer access at home, for example.

I agree with you on all the issues you brought up. I do believe parents should take a more active role in getting their children AWAY from electronic babysitters via whatever means they are able to....even if this just amounts amounts to kicking them outside to play for a while:)

[morski]

In my day all we had for entertainment was riding the bike, playing ball games and reading books.

[Absinthe]

I read this article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8910425/Mobile-phone-confiscation-the-worst-teenage-punishment.html) about half an hour ago and I consider it to be a sad fact :....


The trend for parents to confiscate gadgets and technology products shows a shift in the punishments being imposed on misbehaving teenagers. When asked to think back to their childhood, nearly two thirds of the parents questioned revealed that not being allowed out of the house was the most commonly imposed punishment.

[morski]

I read this article (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/8910425/Mobile-phone-confiscation-the-worst-teenage-punishment.html) about half an hour ago and I consider it to be a sad fact :....


The trend for parents to confiscate gadgets and technology products shows a shift in the punishments being imposed on misbehaving teenagers. When asked to think back to their childhood, nearly two thirds of the parents questioned revealed that not being allowed out of the house was the most commonly imposed punishment.

Haha:D Indeed, so it was.

[AussieScott]

Makes me glad I live in a rural country area with no mobile phone coverage, hell I'm not even on google Earth.

[Flintlocke]

When asked to think back to their childhood, nearly two thirds of the parents questioned revealed that not being allowed out of the house was the most commonly imposed punishment.

Bah, American niceties. The slap on the face was the most common punishment for me. And in those extreme cases my father's belt used as a whip.

[Talvi]

Im not sure.. but I think that children nowadays also have less opportunities to actually do something else but be inside.

At least in Estonia. More and more people are moving to bigger cities. And cities are becoming bigger and more dangerous for children to spend their time running around outside, also there are less places for them to hang around.

[SwordoftheVistula]

I think it's good that kids are playing the games, because it helps to develop their brains in a good way. When I was a kid (80s & 90s) the problem was kids sitting around vegetating watching TV.

I think a large part of the problem is the parents are a lot worried about abductors etc, and thus a lot less likely to just let their kids go out and run around out of site for hours on end like prior generations (60s & before). Also people today are a lot more into 'hands on parenting' and organizing their kids lives with all these activities, in prior generations they just left the kids alone to go out and run around.

Some of it too is technology, kids have a lot more options of stuff to do that was not available to past generations.