The societal push and pull between widespread acceptance of new technologies and the draw of more analog traditions continues. While many parents become contemplative and a little mournful of the loss of cursive writing and abundant–and imaginative –outdoor play, they also foster an understanding that technology is the future. Children must be prepared for it from an early age.
Yet is there a balance that can be found? A method that allows for the maintenance of “old” traditions and the utilization of new technology? It is a topic that has been widely explored. In fact, Andy Robertson, a consumer tech Contributor for Forbes writes almost exclusively about the intersection of technology and family life. He has read most books on the subject, and recently chose to highlight the book Parenting for a Digital Future. Written by Sonia Livingstone and Alicia Blum-Ross, the book explores how fears and hopes about technology help shape childrens’ lives. Robertson notes that it is an evidence-based and detailed exploration of the struggles of modern parents in the shaping of their children’s perspectives. The book touts qualitative and quantitative data accumulated by home visits and research. “It forms a clear picture of what it’s like to be a parent of children in this technological age. There are some fascinating, and moving, insights that come from this,” he writes. He provides an example from the book: “As parents strive to understand the profound changes they are living through, digital dilemmas act as a lightning rod for contemporary contestations over values, identity and responsibility... our research has led us to observe, over and over again, how [technology] provokes fundamental anxieties about agency, values and (the loss of) tradition.” Notably, he says that communication between parents, supportive networks, links between school and the home with regard to learning all play an important role in whether or not technology will benefit children. Ultimately, technology alone will not prepare children for the future and better position them for harnessing technology. Rather, a supportive network that bolsters their learning is what is required for their success. “Programming might be the new Latin, but learning it isn’t about accessing a new tablet but growing up in a context where this new language is supported and appreciated,” Robertson writes. The book uses data to uncover the current dilemma of caregivers and parents: they are told to capitalise on tech and also warned about how too much screen time can harm their children. What parents ultimately need is not an idea of exactly how much time children should spend with technology, but greater frameworks for tech and deeper support “that provides a coherent way forward.” “Not only with how to benefit from it individually, but how to have wider conversations and ongoing connections with other families, teachers and services who are doing similar work,” Robertson writes. So the debate of the push and pull should rather be about greater collaboration. The pandemic proved challenging to parents the world-over. Households seemed like they shrank as many people created makeshift home offices for their remote work as well as dedicated study spaces for their children.
Yet for many parents in Kholowa Village, Katete District, Eastern Province, Zambia, their take-home pay diminished just as a local resource for families had to shut down out of concern over the pandemic. In other words, it was a particularly difficult year for most, if not all, parents, but particularly so in impoverished areas. Still, UNICEF and the LEGO Foundation, the organizations behind the community-based Insaka Early Childhood Development (ECD), pivoted just as adeptly as large for-profit organizations. The regular group parenting sessions have become a valuable resource in the area, facilitating things like sanitation, nutrition and playful parenting. In lieu of meeting at the hubs, volunteers dispersed throughout the communities at pre-established dates to meet with families and further teach playful parenting and responsive care “offering parents support and counseling while still maintaining physical distancing.” And the meetings could not have come at a more necessary time. “The pressures of the COVID-19 crisis have affected the mental health and well-being of parents and caregivers, sometimes straining their ability to engage in responsive and playful interactions with their young children, which are so important for building strong emotional bonds and healthy brains,” according to the Forbes article. At the hubs, parents learn about proper feeding practices, good nutrition, how to know when a child is unwell, and the importance of playful play for early brain development. For example, they learn that sensory-focused games are a good way to stimulate and engage the brains of babies. Faustina Phiri told Forbes that before the playful parenting classes, the children would be in the observer stage of development for much longer than they needed to be. “Because we as parents were too busy with other things,” she explained. “Taking time to play with the children seemed to be time-wasting.” Now, she and her husband know better. Volunteers visit the homes of participating families each month as they await the eventual reopening of their local hub, a place that also serves as a foundation for integrated community development, adult literacy, learning through play and promoting good nutrition to all ages. A silver lining of the pandemic, and notably one of the few, is that families have been able to spend more time together. Faustina’s husband Peter has utilized his extra freetime to procure local materials and make toy instruments for his daughters. The family are thankful for the community-based volunteers who help ensure they do not forget lessons they have been taught and that they continue to practice the lessons correctly. “As a volunteer, it brings me joy to see the great impact that the lessons have played in child growth and development in my community,” Kholowa hub volunteer Beatrice Banda told Forbes. Since the hub’s opening, nearly 600 volunteers have been trained, who have reached over 10,000 parents and caregivers with the important lessons. |
AuthorDr. Angela Carol MD,CCFP,FCFP is a family physician focused on treating chronic illnesses. Archives
May 2022
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