When it comes to children it seems likely that everything has already been said at least once, but what matters is not what has been said, but what we listen to. In one way or another, there is one repeating statement: Children are our future. But do we also give them the help they need to face this future?
First of all I want to state that I don't have children. A lot of parents will now think: Oh great, here comes another person thinking she could do so much better. Well, this might be one way of seeing it, but I consider that for this reason I can be more objective. I will use the occasion to tell all parents how much I admire them, because you have the toughest job in the world. But as with all jobs there is a decision to be made: Do we want to get through as easy as possible, with just enough effort to cope or do we have a certain exigence to ourselves as to how good we want to manage this challenge?
Since I am an aunt and often surrounded by children I have a pretty good idea of what a difficult task parenting can be. It is a tough job, with endless shifts and no leave. Still it is the biggest responsibility of all. Our children are our promise to the future and when I see the generation that is growing up now I feel sad. I fully understand that sometimes all becomes to muck and you place your kids in front of a video game to get a relieve. Trust me there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it is not the usual way of dealing with the situation and I am avoiding the word problem on purpose as children should never be considered a problem.
When we take a look at the children of today we can think of many things, that are going the wrong way, but a friend of mine who is school teacher put it in a simple but accurate way: During the break at school, when our generation played together tag or double Dutch, now every child sits in a corner with the newest smart phone playing games on its own. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge supporter of technology, when used in a proper way. But do our kids really need smart phones at such a young age? Aren't we depriving them of a childhood like the one we experienced? One of my dearest childhood memories is, when my friends and I decided to build a shelter from the rain for worms and insect. We used all sorts of twigs, leaves and stones. Today's children would never even come with such an idea, unless they googled a proper design and ordered previously parts on the internet.
By the overstimulation our kids receive, we are killing their creativity and isn't that the most important thing for progress? Because progress is also change and that can only happen if someone comes up with something new.
I am not one of these extreme people saying children shouldn't watch TV until their teens or anything alike. Actually I often watched TV as a child and I think I turned out quiet right. What I am actually saying is, that it is about balance, like pretty much everything in life. Let your kids watch TV, but make sure what they see has a certain "quality". It is really easy to turn almost everything into a useful lesson. For example, if you watch a movie with a dolphin in it discuss it with your children afterwards. Ask them if they would like to one day feed a dolphin and tell them to find out what they eat. This way you can channel TV and the use of a computer into the right direction. Nothing about this approach is new, as even shows like "Dr. Who" juggled the idea of children developing interest in history through entertainment.
But there are also a lot of aspects about education, where we have learnt a lot in the past twenty years. An example is nutrition. While our parents, were not aware of the influence nutrition in young years has on us for the rest of our life we are now very well aware of it. A mistake often made is to use food as a method of consolation or gratification. Never wondered, why so many of us girls grab some chocolate when feeling down or why we order pizza after a hard day? Please don't get me wrong, I am not judging our parents generations, as I have not doubt they did everything as best according to their knowledge, as we should do now.
But it would be wrong to push the responsibility only to the parents. We all are responsible for the following generation. It is us aunts, uncles, neighbours, teachers that will influence them. This is why I always feel like screaming when I am reading about budget cuts for schools, increase in university fees, cancellation of support just to name a few. What is more important to invest in, then our children?
I grew up in a working class family, while we weren't poor, money was an issue, when decisions had to be made, as we were three children. Luckily I had two adult brother who supported me, beside from my parents, when I was in university and still I had to work on the side. I am not looking for pity or anything alike, as I was luckier than a lot of people.
Martin Luther King once started a speech with the words "I have a dream" and I want to borrow this words now. As I too have a dream, where education and studies is not a luxury but a given right to every child.
First of all I want to state that I don't have children. A lot of parents will now think: Oh great, here comes another person thinking she could do so much better. Well, this might be one way of seeing it, but I consider that for this reason I can be more objective. I will use the occasion to tell all parents how much I admire them, because you have the toughest job in the world. But as with all jobs there is a decision to be made: Do we want to get through as easy as possible, with just enough effort to cope or do we have a certain exigence to ourselves as to how good we want to manage this challenge?
Since I am an aunt and often surrounded by children I have a pretty good idea of what a difficult task parenting can be. It is a tough job, with endless shifts and no leave. Still it is the biggest responsibility of all. Our children are our promise to the future and when I see the generation that is growing up now I feel sad. I fully understand that sometimes all becomes to muck and you place your kids in front of a video game to get a relieve. Trust me there is nothing wrong with that, as long as it is not the usual way of dealing with the situation and I am avoiding the word problem on purpose as children should never be considered a problem.
When we take a look at the children of today we can think of many things, that are going the wrong way, but a friend of mine who is school teacher put it in a simple but accurate way: During the break at school, when our generation played together tag or double Dutch, now every child sits in a corner with the newest smart phone playing games on its own. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge supporter of technology, when used in a proper way. But do our kids really need smart phones at such a young age? Aren't we depriving them of a childhood like the one we experienced? One of my dearest childhood memories is, when my friends and I decided to build a shelter from the rain for worms and insect. We used all sorts of twigs, leaves and stones. Today's children would never even come with such an idea, unless they googled a proper design and ordered previously parts on the internet.
By the overstimulation our kids receive, we are killing their creativity and isn't that the most important thing for progress? Because progress is also change and that can only happen if someone comes up with something new.
I am not one of these extreme people saying children shouldn't watch TV until their teens or anything alike. Actually I often watched TV as a child and I think I turned out quiet right. What I am actually saying is, that it is about balance, like pretty much everything in life. Let your kids watch TV, but make sure what they see has a certain "quality". It is really easy to turn almost everything into a useful lesson. For example, if you watch a movie with a dolphin in it discuss it with your children afterwards. Ask them if they would like to one day feed a dolphin and tell them to find out what they eat. This way you can channel TV and the use of a computer into the right direction. Nothing about this approach is new, as even shows like "Dr. Who" juggled the idea of children developing interest in history through entertainment.
But there are also a lot of aspects about education, where we have learnt a lot in the past twenty years. An example is nutrition. While our parents, were not aware of the influence nutrition in young years has on us for the rest of our life we are now very well aware of it. A mistake often made is to use food as a method of consolation or gratification. Never wondered, why so many of us girls grab some chocolate when feeling down or why we order pizza after a hard day? Please don't get me wrong, I am not judging our parents generations, as I have not doubt they did everything as best according to their knowledge, as we should do now.
But it would be wrong to push the responsibility only to the parents. We all are responsible for the following generation. It is us aunts, uncles, neighbours, teachers that will influence them. This is why I always feel like screaming when I am reading about budget cuts for schools, increase in university fees, cancellation of support just to name a few. What is more important to invest in, then our children?
I grew up in a working class family, while we weren't poor, money was an issue, when decisions had to be made, as we were three children. Luckily I had two adult brother who supported me, beside from my parents, when I was in university and still I had to work on the side. I am not looking for pity or anything alike, as I was luckier than a lot of people.
Martin Luther King once started a speech with the words "I have a dream" and I want to borrow this words now. As I too have a dream, where education and studies is not a luxury but a given right to every child.
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