Technology has advanced so much over the years. The problem with this is that we have lost some skills needed for our continuous development. One example is the ability to remember phone numbers. I can still remember a number from 1995 but can’t remember one from 2010. As adults over the age of 25 years, we had these foundational skills in our earlier years before relying on technology. I’m sure all of us can say we love children and want to see them be great when they get older. With this love and with it being 2024, we must find ways to protect their futures. The blue light that comes from our handheld devices is a conversation we should all be having.
As an Occupational Therapist, most days I work with children ages 5-8 but I have worked with children from 1 year up until 21 years with and without autism. In the almost 10 years I have been doing this, I have seen a great change in the attention span and behavior of the children I work with. Many of them lack interest in playing with the typical toys most kids would play. Many of them find the most interest in tablets and phone devices. In this month of Autism Awareness, let’s think about the idea of play where adults sit down with their children to engage with toys the old school way.
When you play with toys what does this do for the young mind…
- Attention to activities for an extended period of time.
- Social skills and the art of sharing and turn taking.
- Fine motor skills when manipulating pieces and pushing buttons.
- Gross motor skills by strengthening upper and lower extremities.
- Problem solving and learning how to figure things out which helps with frustration tolerance overtime.
Tonight Let’s bring this conversation to the forefront as we move forward. The newer generations are the adults of the future. Let’s nurture their development and do the best we can to continue to teach. Technology is very beneficial to our society but at younger ages there has to be rules set.