"More time for kids"

[Hobbes]

Found this on the 1000steine-forum:

"The german Department for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth together with the Organization More Time For Kids and the Organization for Exterior Advertising want to focus the attention of the citizens on the concerns and interests of the kids in the society. Concretely, the point of this campaign is to make the public aware of the importance of parents' devotion to their kids."

(Sorry for the translation, sounds weird to me, I hope you get the point.)

Among others they use this billboard:

(pic = link to high-res pic, 3366x2379 532 KB)

[ApophisV]

I had seen this already (also at 1000steine) and I think this is a great campaign! Today's kids need to get away from their screens (TV, PC, X-box, PS2, Gameboys and whatever...) and play with real toys again!

[Vader]

Yes i agree with you Apo, today to many kids dont get encouraged to use there imaginstions and shut sit playing with computer games that dont challenge there minds.

[gylman]

My kids are 6 and 8. TV is banned at our house, as are game consoles. The only TV they get is videos of popular movies, etc. PC access is restricted to 1/2 hour a day on weekdays, 1 hr weekends.

Lego use is unrestricted except by sleep hours. :-D

I am a ruthless parent, I guess, but to me it is SO obvious that letting kids watch unrestricted TV is harmful. As I tell my kids: "TV makes your brain stupid". In 20 years I predict TV viewing in children will be regarded as equally bad as exposure to second hand smoke and it will be stigmatized as bad parenting.

[xwingyoda]

Where is the construction worker destroying the bloody remote ??? :D :P

Seriously, I think that this campaign has a fantastic goal to achieve !!! Too much technology just kills technology !!!

Go lego !!!!!!

[Hobbes]

I am a ruthless parent, I guess [...]

It depends on what you are ruthless about. Getting kids away from too much TV is a good thing. I see enough of those kids around where the parents obviously don't spend enough time with them cos they're both working. The latter is a problem of today's society, but I've noticed that people become aware of that. Maybe it's going to turn for a better once it's my turn to be a parent. I certainly intend to raise my kid(s) the way I've been raised: as little TV/PC and as much LEGO and outside-play as possible :)

[SuvieD]

Now if only people would listen. The family we stayed with in Germany said much the same of the youth there. It was nice to stay with people who cared about their children.

It isn't enough to limit TV though. The campaign got it right. Spend time with your children. If you cannot play LEGO with them why should they? If you spend hours in front of a tv why shouldn't they?

I don't have children yet. I hope one day I can show them the value of imagination and creativity. You are never too old to have play time with children yours or someone elses. Way to go LEGO.

[snefroe]

it's a great campaign! i talked to a teacher of 3-4 year olds the other day and she told me these kids were all very much interested in pc games and they were all capable of building piramids... on a computer screen! however, when the teacher gave them a box with duplo bricks, they simply had no idea what to do... now she's trying to teach the children how to play with duplo bricks...

i think we very often forget how vital it is to play with real objects like bricks. you get a certain insight on how things are being built in the real world, how things work,... I also think it's a good thing to limit tv/pc time for individuals, children or adults...

[ApophisV]

IMO the right computer programs can support childrens develpement of creativity. BUT first of all this doesn't mean any computer program, it could include programs like Photoshop, CAD programs or similar things.

Years ago I made several maps for Half Life (1) and I think this had some positive effort for me. First of all, I made this maps for the purpose of having a threedimensional version of a real or imagined structure, for me it was some kind of 'art', NOT for playing in the maps itself (at least not seriously).

Because of this I nowadays see many more details when I'm e.g. into an interesting building, this surely was a postive effect of it.

But the other side of the computer is that you aren't related to any natural laws anymore. It is possible to build a house on the screen that floats in the air or a place where you can walk upside down on the roof. Doesn't teach you anything connected to the real life.

And this is the point where real life experiences come in! A kid that used to play with Lego knows that he can't build a large creation with a single 1x1x5 brick as a stand beneath it...

A kid that climbs on trees knows that a fall from a height of 1,5m CAN hurt people (and not only reduce the "life" from 100% to 97% or whatever)!

A kid playing with other kids learns to use its face to express their feelings, it learns to communicate, instead of using "Blah Blah *giggles* ;) :P *lol*" expressions only...

That's why I think Computers and TVs surely are a great addition to the education of kids (one must never forgot that kids HAVE to be able to act with modern computer and other electronic systems), but only if the parents / teachers think intensive about which soft-/hardware to use and how to use it!

[gylman]

No dispute that TV can be good. I do try to seek this out and let them watch this.

However, the vast majority of what is available is either junk, inappropriate, or just plain harmful (violence, attitude, behaviour). And I am not some bible thumping puritan, that's for sure. Leaving the TV on with random access for the kids is like leaving them in a toxic soup. What are they going to watch - the discovery channel? Or the latest Disney junk? Or some high action violence flick? Not the first one, that's for sure.

It is impossible to screen this for your kids. I spend vast amounts of time with my kids to the exclusion of almost all else except work and late night Lego sessions, and I can't do it. The only solution I found was to eliminate live TV and only have stuff on video/DVD that I have screened.

Same with PC access. There is an increasing amount of junk for kids on the internet, as advertisers have realized that their market is shifting. If you go on Disney sites, movie sites, etc etc, there are so many games, promotions, etc. There was nothing like this even 2 years ago.

[Ickelpete]

My kids are 4 and 7 and both of them love to play with lego but they also like TV cycling and CBBC web sites. I think the important thing is that they have a good balance between all forms of play.

I think that as a lego fan myself it gives my children an I some common ground where we can play together they like to play with my creations and they ask for help with their creations This builds a good bond between parent and child which is something a lot of kids who are just stuck infront of a games console sadley do not have.

Computers and TV are a huge part of todays life but as a parent you need to take a resonsible attitude to what they can have access to.

[Legoman]

good they are not destorying the keybords :D :D :D :)