[News] Children in England growing up ‘sedentary, scrolling and alone’, say experts

[Mustafa II]

Children in England growing up ‘sedentary, scrolling and alone’, say experts

Raising the Nation Play Commission report recommends ban on ‘no ball games’ signs and raising digital age of consent to 16

www.theguardian.com

This young generation has no chance. Let's hope we can fix this before it becomes pan-generational.

 

[Green Cross Code Man]

3 kids next door. Decent sized garden. Hardly ever hear them out playing. When I was their age I was out in the town I grew up in, up on the downs, on the beach and also playing footie etc on the playing fields and back garden. It is a tragedy the way we have casually let things go, and speaking as a computing teacher I am in favour of tech. We teach moderation and healthy digital well-being but all too often 'What did you do over the weekend' is met with 'I played such and such game.....I watched shorts' etc. And that's all the child did.

 

[Insel affe]

Children in England growing up ‘sedentary, scrolling and alone’, say experts

Raising the Nation Play Commission report recommends ban on ‘no ball games’ signs and raising digital age of consent to 16

www.theguardian.com

This young generation has no chance. Let's hope we can fix this before it becomes pan-generational.

Ah, you can do a sensible post, that is refreshing.

This is a big concern, our daughter scrolls through tik tok or whatever it is, her mood then changes drastically.
She knows it is bad although she is not on any other social media platform, She has started to recognise the problem and is now getting out more with friends as she is getting close to 16 which is good. The weather has a lot to do with that I guess and growing up and realising there are a lot of fake posts, fake enhanced photos, she is aware and it winds her up, but sometimes still scrolls for an hour or more.
Personally I do not get it, but then I am 54 and grew up in an entirely different time so I tend not to judge. I leave the moaning to my wife about tik tok and the harms.
But as I said I am a 54 year old fella who has no interest in it, and I am probably not aware of the grooming, bullying or whatever.

Covid did not help children and probably exacerbated the problem, we can pin her increase in the over use of her phone (scrolling) directly to the start of covid.

 

[darkwolf666]

Weirdly, I have just moved to a new build estate, and face onto the green space and play area. I have never seen so many kids out, running about, riding bikes and scooters. Maybe they haven't reached that age yet...!

Just need to teach them to take all their rubbish home now, rather than my having to go litter picking every morning...

 

[The Optimist]

Weirdly, I have just moved to a new build estate, and face onto the green space and play area. I have never seen so many kids out, running about, riding bikes and scooters. Maybe they haven't reached that age yet...!

Just need to teach them to take all their rubbish home now, rather than my having to go litter picking every morning...

There definitely is an age that everything seems to change for kids. Mine are 2.5 and 5.5 years olds and they and their friends live outside play. I have a 12 and 13 years niece and nephew and I know getting them out and active is more of a battle.

 

[get that board down!]

Kind of appropriate for a football forum but getting them into a football or other sports team even if the level is low, works wonders on every level. I know this is an old one but if only successive governments could have prioritised more sport/dance/acting extra curricular stuff. As it is, it is hard for parents to get their kids into clubs. I had to create a football team for my son then run it.

 

[Wozza]

My youngest went paintballing with school friends at the weekend. Long train journey.

He didn’t pack his phone, which we thought was odd.

“Why would I need it?” he said. “I’ll be talking to my friends.”

*proud*

Edit: Just to add, it's not a perfect set-up here. My other two boys spend quite a lot of time of their phones. My eldest has a different obsession - live football. (Soul Tower Hamlets vs Witham Town anyone?)

 

[Brovion]

When is the 'danger age'? My two children (37 and 32) grew up before the smartphone, indeed probably from a parental point of view in the 'golden age' of mobiles. We gave them phones as it meant we could call them, not the building we thought they might be in. Plus they could ring us if they got stuck somewhere. Apart from calls and texts those old phones didn't do much else.

My grandson is six, and apart from wanting to play games on all our phones he has shown no interest in having one. He currently loves nothing more than playing football, riding his bike, or playing on the play equipment in the park. He does play some video games at his parents homes (we haven't got a games console), but even then he'd rather be outside.

 

[Insel affe]

My youngest went paintballing with school friends at the weekend. Long train journey.

He didn’t pack his phone, which we thought was odd.

“Why would I need it?” he said. “I’ll be talking to my friends.”

*proud*

So you should be, oddly enough we were talking to the daughter last night and phones popped up in the conversation.
She just got back from a weekend away with her football team in Barcelona playing a tournament (they came third)
She said she shared a room with a girl who was constantly on her phone and it was annoying, taking selfies and texting all and sundry until 2am. Baby Insel Affe said to many of her friends are not living the moment, instead worrying about what other kids think rather than enjoying the experience. There is hope she won't just scroll all the time and get angry or depressed, I want her to start going to gigs or out with her friends more and it seems she is coming to that conclusion herself.

 

[Insel affe]

When is the 'danger age'?

Again, I think an age group got caught by covid, they had no school, they had to stay in for a period, some lived in flats and could not go out.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

When is the 'danger age'? My two children (37 and 32) grew up before the smartphone, indeed probably from a parental point of view in the 'golden age' of mobiles. We gave them phones as it meant we could call them, not the building we thought they might be in. Plus they could ring us if they got stuck somewhere. Apart from calls and texts those old phones didn't do much else.

My grandson is six, and apart from wanting to play games on all our phones he has shown no interest in having one. He currently loves nothing more than playing football, riding his bike, or playing on the play equipment in the park. He does play some video games at his parents homes (we haven't got a games console), but even then he'd rather be outside.

I am going to say this once.
Blame the parents.
Docile and screen-fixed kids means the parents can get on with their own business.
I'm sorry to say mea culpa in that regard.

 

[Peteinblack]

So you should be, oddly enough we were talking to the daughter last night and phones popped up in the conversation.
She just got back from a weekend away with her football team in Barcelona playing a tournament (they came third)
She said she shared a room with a girl who was constantly on her phone and it was annoying, taking selfies and texting all and sundry until 2am. Baby Insel Affe said to many of her friends are not living the moment, instead worrying about what other kids think rather than enjoying the experience. There is hope she won't just scroll all the time and get angry or depressed, I want her to start going to gigs or out with her friends more and it seems she is coming to that conclusion herself.

Where much of the audience will be watching the gig through their bloody phones, and the rest of us will struggle to see the band through the forest of phones held aloft!

Your daughter sounds like she has a very mature attitude -and is a credit to her parents.

 

[Peteinblack]

I am going to say this once.
Blame the parents.
Docile and screen-fixed kids means the parents can get on with their own business.
I'm sorry to say mea culpa in that regard.

Yeah, as someone who commutes by train 3 days per week, I'm constantly dismayed by how many parents immediately give their toddler an ipad to watch Peppa Pig (or similar) - without headphones, meaning that the whole carriage has to listen - so the parents can spend the train journey on their phones. There is no communication or eye-contact with their toddler whatsoever.

Hence the kid is not developing any communication or social skills in their formative years.

 

[Peteinblack]

When I were a lad, punishment for being cheeky or misbehaving was to be sent to your bedroom. Now it would be telling kids to get out of their bedroom and to go outside!

 

[Commander]

I am going to say this once.
Blame the parents.
Docile and screen-fixed kids means the parents can get on with their own business.
I'm sorry to say mea culpa in that regard.

100%.

A Sussex-based Fulham-supporting friend of mine took his 11year old son to his first ever away game last year (Wolves). I asked him how the journey was with him and he said "Fine, he just played on his iPad the whole time". I just don't get it. If I have a 3 hour journey with my 11 year old, it's a brilliant opportunity to actually chat with him and spend some time with him where he can't run off and do something else. Why bring an iPad? I will never, ever understand it.

Don't get me wrong, my kids probably spend more time on screens than they should, but there is a difference in playing video games at home where you can manage the amount of time they spend on them, to being stuck to a screen every time they go anywhere. If we are driving to Cornwall or something then I'll let them take an iPad and use it for an hour or so on the motorway a few hours in, but I have friends who would just have them in the car all the time. Why have kids if you can't be arsed to interact with them? I just don't get it.

Don't get me started on people taking them to restaurants. If your kids can't sit at a table for an hour with their parents and have a nice meal without having to have a screen in front of them then I'm sorry, but that is a massive parenting failure, and you are setting them up terribly for life.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

100%.

A Sussex-based Fulham-supporting friend of mine took his 11year old son to his first ever away game last year (Wolves). I asked him how the journey was with him and he said "Fine, he just played on his iPad the whole time". I just don't get it. If I have a 3 hour journey with my 11 year old, it's a brilliant opportunity to actually chat with him and spend some time with him where he can't run off and do something else. Why bring an iPad? I will never, ever understand it.

Don't get me wrong, my kids probably spend more time on screens than they should, but there is a difference in playing video games at home where you can manage the amount of time they spend on them, to being stuck to a screen every time they go anywhere. If we are driving to Cornwall or something then I'll let them take an iPad and use it for an hour or so on the motorway a few hours in, but I have friends who would just have them in the car all the time. Why have kids if you can't be arsed to interact with them? I just don't get it.

Don't get me started on people taking them to restaurants. If your kids can't sit at a table for an hour with their parents and have a nice meal without having to have a screen in front of them then I'm sorry, but that is a massive parenting failure, and you are setting them up terribly for life.

I took out an old pal to lunch yesterday. Brazilian professor, UK educated, 67 years old. He was fiddling with his phone on and off throughout. I must confess that I raised an eyebrow.

My son (39) comes to footy with me. He sometimes uses his phone in the car but only to make arrangements with his mates. He is a massive gamer in his own time though. All in all I can't complain.

I'm pleased your arrangement are satisfactory

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Yeah, as someone who commutes by train 3 days per week, I'm constantly dismayed by how many parents immediately give their toddler an ipad to watch Peppa Pig (or similar) - without headphones, meaning that the whole carriage has to listen - so the parents can spend the train journey on their phones. There is no communication or eye-contact with their toddler whatsoever.

Hence the kid is not developing any communication or social skills in their formative years.

The only people broadcasting on my train these days are feral teenagers who should be at school and aren't, who stink of skunk, and who seem to think the entire carriage needs to be educated on the finer points of grime, grubbiness, armpit-putty or whatever it is they listen to. Luckily for my infrequent commuting only a once a year event.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

It's about finding a balance.

A bit of screen time is OK, but yeh, you want them doing stuff with their mates

 

[Wozza]

When is the 'danger age'? My two children (37 and 32) grew up before the smartphone, indeed probably from a parental point of view in the 'golden age' of mobiles. We gave them phones as it meant we could call them, not the building we thought they might be in. Plus they could ring us if they got stuck somewhere. Apart from calls and texts those old phones didn't do much else.

My grandson is six, and apart from wanting to play games on all our phones he has shown no interest in having one. He currently loves nothing more than playing football, riding his bike, or playing on the play equipment in the park. He does play some video games at his parents homes (we haven't got a games console), but even then he'd rather be outside.

Our boys were exposed to iPads from an early age, but relatively light use. No different from watching TV, playing videogames etc.

They weren't allowed a smartphone with their own accounts until they left primary school (or the birthday before). Partly so they could stay in touch with old friends when switching schools.

But that's when things can change. Own smartphone = own accounts = own world.

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

The best thing parents can do is set an example

But screen addictions don't just affect the young. We're wasting our lives, (he says typing on a screen) as much as the youngsters.

The kids see it and do the same.

If you want your kids to do it less, the starting point is to put down your phone down. Get a board game out or something