When it comes to each generation there’s a general consensus that our children are becoming “smarter”.
I wonder though is this really the case. We stare in awe as a toddler takes a picture on a mobile phone or gasp in shock when a parent talks about getting their 4-year-old a tablet.
Instead of embracing this wonderful progression of civilisation and the human race our answer is to curb it, condemn it and fear it.
Child experts call for reduced “screen time” whilst the more conservative sections of society are convinced our children are being exposed to technology far too young.
Don’t get me wrong, in no way am I in favour of turning our tablets, tv’s and smart phones into digital nannies and I certainly don’t advocate the mindless staring at stupifying cartoons that make me want to launch the tv out the living room window.
However, technology does have a place in our children’s life, in fact by not exposing them to it at a young age we are actively limiting their learning, experiences and curbing their natural curiosity to learn what is likely to be the very fabric of their existence as time moves on.
I don’t believe our children are getting “smarter” I simply think that some parents have understood the importance of allowing a natural curiosity and yearning to learn in their children. Kids are unbelievably adaptable and whether they are working in the workhouses of the industrial revolution or embracing the technological advancements of the 21st century we shouldn’t judge them by the expectations of our own childhoods.
It isn’t the advancement of our children that I believe is the real awe-inspiring actions. It’s the parents who are enlightened enough to know that by allowing their child at a young age to gain knowledge of the world in which he or she will live, learn and work in they are helping to pave the way for a new, more advanced society.
Regardless of what people may say, progress and advancement are key to creating a better world. By nurturing young people’s natural ability to dream and reach for the star’s we are preparing our scholars, leaders and workers of tomorrow to move forward away from everything that makes us fear for our children in the first place.
The secret isn’t to deprive them of their technology but to join them in embracing how it can expand their minds and feed their natural need to learn and grow.
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