subscribeModern life leads to more depression among kids
Some weeks ago, I was attending at the MIT a presentation of Toshio Iwai work; a very smart and clever guy, but my fried made a comment on him after the presentation “that he quite not got it†and Toshio's reminder to the audience that he is actually a media artist made me suspicious to. Toshio Iwai showed all his hi-tek, interaction projects between music and visuals, including short extracts of Elektroplancton a very cute Nintendo DS game and his instrument TENORI-ON in coop with Yamaha.
On the end of the presentation he broke with the multi media enthusiasm and showed to the audience, pictures from his private live and said: "that he would not give to his daughter a computer, because she will not understand", instead he is working/ playing in his spear time with here, creating nice figures out of cardboard. Ahm.
We all may know by now, MIT is pushing the project one laptop per child, I attended a disappointingly political correct – super confident power point presentation at Ars Electronica 06 symposium from Walter Bender about the One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit initiative "that is developing a technology designed to revolutionize how the world’s children are educated". The comment after a long pause from Sam Hecht; he said basically that kids want adult tools and not a Mickey Mouse like looking computer. The soft and hardware concept is MIT like well thought trough, mashing and open source, but hey, some old IT folks are building funny computers for kids, something is bizarre. Well let’s see the practise of it, but related to the following open letter, I think also, we do not need more kids, steering in their laptop screens replacing the hypnotised sitting in front of the TV. Nicholas Negroponte, chairman of One Laptop per Child is the brother of U.S. National Intelligence Director John Negroponte.
Here the pro-test letter to a UK government executive:
Modern life leads to more depression among children
Sir - As professionals and academics from a range of backgrounds, we are deeply concerned at the escalating incidence of childhood depression and children’s behavioural and developmental conditions. We believe this is largely due to a lack of understanding, on the part of both politicians and the general public, of the realities and subtleties of child development.
Since children’s brains are still developing, they cannot adjust – as full-grown adults can – to the effects of ever more rapid technological and cultural change. They still need what developing human beings have always needed, including real food (as opposed to processed “junkâ€), real play (as opposed to sedentary, screen-based entertainment), first-hand experience of the world they live in and regular interaction with the real-life significant adults in their lives.
They also need time. In a fast-moving hyper-competitive culture, today’s children are expected to cope with an ever-earlier start to formal schoolwork and an overly academic test-driven primary curriculum. They are pushed by market forces to act and dress like mini-adults and exposed via the electronic media to material which would have been considered unsuitable for children even in the very recent past.
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Our society rightly takes great pains to protect children from physical harm, but seems to have lost sight of their emotional and social needs. However, it’s now clear that the mental health of an unacceptable number of children is being unnecessarily compromised, and that this is almost certainly a key factor in the rise of substance abuse, violence and self-harm amongst our young people.
This is a complex socio-cultural problem to which there is no simple solution, but a sensible first step would be to encourage parents and policy-makers to start talking about ways of improving children’s well-being. We therefore propose as a matter of urgency that public debate be initiated on child-rearing in the 21st century this issue should be central to public policy-making in coming decades.
Professor Peter Abbs, University of Sussex,
Liz Attenborough, Manager, Talk to Your Baby Campaign
Robin Balbernie, Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist,
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Jean Barlow, Teacher Consultant, Rochdale Children’s Trust,
Sally Barnes Writer and consultant on early years education
Geoff Barton Headteacher King Edward VI School, Suffolk
Camilla Batmanghelidjh Founder, Kids Club
Virginia Beardshaw CEO, I CAN
Dr Robert Beckford University of Birmingham, Documentary maker ,Professor of African Diasaporin Studies
Professor Ron Best Roehampton University
John C. Beyer Director of Mediawatch UK
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Sir Richard Bowlby President, Centre for Child Mental Health
David Brazier Author, abbot
Professor Tim Brighouse Commissioner for London Schools
Mick Brookes General Secretary, National Association of Head Teachers
Professor Greg Brooks University of Sheffield
Dr Christopher Houghton Budd Economic historian
Christabel Burniston President, The English Speaking Board
Jean Clark Fellow of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy
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Paul Cooper Editor, Soccer Coaching International
Pie Corbett Author and literacy consultant
Arthur Cornell Chairman, Family Education Trust
Jill Curtis www.familyonwards.co.uk
Professor Tricia David Canterbury Christchurch University Colleg
Marion Dowling President, British Association of Early Childhood Education
Dr John Dunford General Secretary, Association of School and College Leaders
Margaret Edgington Early Years specialist consultant and author
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Peter Elfer Early Childhood Studies, Roehampton University
Michele Elliot Director, Kidscape
Professor Colin Feltham Sheffield Hallam University
Anne Fine Author and former Children’s Laureate
Helen Freeman Director of Publications, Scholastic Magazines
Dr Marilyn Fryer C.Psychol. The Creativity Centre Ltd.
Di Gammage Play Therapist, University of Plymouth
Jan Georgeson University of Gloucestershire
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Melanie Gill Child forensic psychologist, Commonsense Associates
Christopher Gilmore Atma-Dovetales Educational
Sally Goddard Blythe Director, Institute for Neuro-Physiological Psychology
Diana Goodey Educational author
Prue Goodwin Literacy specialist, University of Reading
Rob Grant Lecturer in Development Economics, University of East Anglia
Baroness Susan Greenfield Director of the Royal Institution
Dr Natasha Grist University of East Anglia
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Andrea Halewood Chartered Counselling Psychologist, Roehampton University
Grethe Hooper Hansen Former head of S.E.A.L., educational consultant
Robert Hart Analytical Psychologist
Colin and Jacqui Hawkins Children’s authors
Sylvie Hétu International trainer, International Association of Infant Massage
Brenda Hobbins Founder, Osiris Educational
Patrick Holford Chief Executive of the Food for the Brain Foundation
Dr Richard House Research Centre for Therapeutic Education, Roehampton University
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Dr Frances Hutchinson Economist
Virginia Ironside Journalist and author
Julie Jennings Chair of the Early Childhood Forum
Sue Johnston-Wilder Senior Lecturer in Mathematics Education, Open University
Dr Paul Kelly Senior Clinical Psychologist
Martin Large Author of Set Free Childhood
Dr Penelope Leach Author, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, Institute for the Study of Children, Families & Social Issues, Birkbeck College, London
Dr John Lees University of Greenwich
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Professor Del Loewenthal Roehampton University
Dr Christine Macintyre Hon Fellow, University of Edinburgh
Neil McLelland Chief Executive, National Literacy Trust
Dr Peter Martin Principal Lecturer in Counselling Psychology, Roehampton University
Mildred Masheder Writer on childhood, author of Positive Parenting
Dr Brien Masters Director, London Waldorf Teacher Training Seminar
Dr Roland Meighan Educational publisher and author of Comparing Learning Systems
Montessori Education UK
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Michael Morpurgo Author and former Children’s Laureate
Professor Janet Moyles Emeritus professor at Anglia Ruskin University
Craig Newnes Editor of Making and Breaking Children’s Lives
Vincent Nolan Synectics Education Initiative
Chris Oakley Psychoanalyst, The Site for Contemporary Psychoanalysis
Haya Oakley Hon Sec of The College of Psychoanalysts
Lynne Oldfield Director, London Waldorf Early Childhood Training Course
Jayne Osgood Senior Research Fellow, London Metropolitan University
Sue Palmer Literacy consultant and author of Toxic Childhood
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Dr Lindsey Peer CBE
Prof Michael A. Peters University of Illinois
Gervase Phinn Former school inspector and author
Professor David Pilgrim Clinical psychologist and academic author
Sir Jonathon Porritt Environmental campaigner
Denis Postle Psychotherapist and author of The Mind Gymnasium
Linda Pound Early Years Consultant
Philip Pullman Author
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Tom Raines Editor, New View magazine
Dr Graham Rawlinson Educational psychologist, University of Sussex
Professor Colin Richards HMI (ret.)
Dr Alex Richardson Mansfield College, Oxford; author of They Are What We Feed Them
Denise Roberts Editor, My Child magazine
Veronika Robinson Editor of The Mother magazine
Dr Dorothy Rowe Psychologist and writer
Professor Andrew Samuels University of Essex
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Sally Schweizer Early Childhood Advisor, teacher trainer, author of Well, I Wonder
Wendy Scott Former early years adviser to the DfES
Dorothy Selleck Early Years consultant
Dr Aric Sigman Writer, broadcaster and author of Remotely Controlled
Pippa Smith and Miranda Suit Co-founders of Media March UK
Professor Margaret Snowling University of York Professor
Ernesto Spinelli Psychotherapist and counselling psychologist, Regent’s College, London
Dr Pat Spungin www.raisingkids.co.uk
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Dr Stephen Sterling Academic and author of Sustainable Education
Professor Brian Thorne University of East Anglia and the College of Teachers
Dr Sami Timimi Consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist, Lincolnshire
Nick Totton Editor, Psychotherapy and Politics journal
Dr Rona Tutt Consultant, Speaker and Writer
Norman Wells Director, Family Education Trust
Dr David Whitebread University of Cambridge
Hilary Wilce Columnist and author of Help Your Child Succeed At School
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Bryony Williams Nursery manager
Jacqueline Wilson Author and Children’s Laureate
Sarah Woodhouse Right From the Start education and support project for parents
