A recent study in the journal Pediatrics links background noise from tv sets and negative outcomes in young children. The 4 hour a day average was found to be linked to lower sustained attention during playtime, lower quality parent-child relationships, and reduced performance on cognitive tests. No surprise here.
Kids today are growing up in homes where both parents work, family meals together are rare, parents work 24/7 and are constantly distracted with work issues, kids are over scheduled and have little or no down time, and everyone is constantly bombarded with images, technologies, and noise.
Kids need to learn to be more MINDFUL! They need to experience being fully engaged in one thing at a time, to be fully present and in the moment. And they need their parents full attention when they are together eating and playing. Get the tv’s and all electronics out of their bedrooms, out of the kitchen, and out of the cars! Talk to each other, engage in deep conversations, and give each other your full attention.
Speech therapists and teachers tell me kids are entering kindergarten behind in phonics skills, and I think it is partly a result of parents not doing rhyming games and singing nursery rhymes at bedtime and during car rides due to electronics. Engage fully!!!
I have a suggestion, turn off electronics and engage in pumpkin carving. Discuss the history of the tradition, tools, themes and so on.. Also, put Holiday lights in the Jack-O-Lantern for a different and modern effect. DDF