Do you still remember tazos? If not, allow me to remind you . . . They were those little shields of fun that came in packets of chips a decade ago, and which were feverishly collected by kids. You might remember them from the migraines you would get when your children busted them on the floor, or from having to constantly scoop them up off the floor.
Or what about frisbees, or swingball, or dashing down to the corner café for a game of Space Invaders? Hey, at least you would get some exercise that way.
If only modern childhood was that complicated. I am almost immediately compelled to congratulate people who became parents a decade ago. Why, you ask? Well, because for the modern parent, tazos and teething are the easier bits of raising a child.
As the social situation in South Africa and the world changes, there is a distinct and urgent need to rethink parenting. It’s not just predator drones and workplaces that are going digital, children today are growing up online. But is growing up in the dotcom age such a bad thing. Well, studies (and common sense) would suggest so.
Funny as it sounds, there is a great deal that is lost from not being able to hurt your knee while chasing a ball, or screaming at the top of your lungs for no apparent reason. As children log on to the internet (plus Twitter, Mxit, Facebook, Zoopy, BBM etc), they are indirectly logging out of society.
Studies have shown that more and more children are spending their time on the internet, and this is resulting in more of them showing signs of antisocial behavior. To put it into context, your child is more likely to read this blog post than you are. Worrying signs for any parent who is aiming to raise healthy, proactive children.
Read more blogs. The reluctant tech geek!
But the biggest worry about the digital age is the proliferation of information that is available online. It’s a frenzy of content out there. If it were just a matter of Googling the odd maths answer, or your favourite music group, I’m sure it would be fine. But kids are accessing porn and other distasteful downloads, and, whatever you say about your kids (‘My boy would never do that!’), believe me they know more than you realise.
A recent study in the UK indicates that there has been a sharp increase in the number of websites that encourage children to commit group suicides. The horror stories are becoming realer and more frequent and South Africa is no different
Now it would be unrealistic for me to say that we should all go offline and sail away on a boat. But perhaps parents should take a more active role in being a part of their children’s cyber experience. Even if it means adding the little rugrats on Facebook or Twitter. Granted it might seem a little weird, but better that than finding yourself and your family in the newspaper headlines, because that is the maximum price you could pay. – By Sihle Mthembu