TV or not TV: maybe a bit of both



David Bowie and Hill Rolling


Kate:

I read an article in The Times magazine last weekend that suggested that David Bowie only became David Bowie because he was bored and that if he had had the Internet he might never have got bored, thus suggesting that the Internet, computers and consoles could somehow be preventing future creative minds. Of course you could say that the Internet has enabled many creative minds to be discovered, for instance musicians via myspace. But this is not about computers being a promotion tool, it's about them being a distraction, its about people not writing a song or painting a picture in the first place, because it is easy to waste an evening checking out what’s trending on Twitter.

At the centre we don’t have any TVs, the children aren’t allowed to bring phones or hand held computers so when they have free time they are literally free. Their heads aren’t turned by the hypnotising sounds and images of the television, their attention isn’t pulled by the buzz and ‘ting ting’ of text messages and in free time they have to find a way to entertain themselves that doesn’t involve turning on a DS or IPad. The other day at work I watched as a group of children got together on the field and came up with a game to play. It was inspiringly called ‘Hill Rolling’ and involved a group of them rolling down a hill whilst one jumped over them one at a time. It was the simplest game but they were having the time of their lives. Now I’m not saying that ‘Hill Rolling’ is as groundbreaking as Ziggy Stardust, but I do believe that exercising your imagination in that way from a young age encourages creative thinking. If these children were to continue to exercise their minds creatively, instead of burying their heads in facebook and Xboxes, then I truly believe that they will be able to offer more to society and therefore have a more successful and fulfilling future.

I’ve previously described my lucky living situation but what I didn’t explain was that my staff house doesn’t have a phone line, I have no internet connection. If I want to check facebook or post on my blog I have to stay at work late or squeeze it in at lunchtime. This means that I’m not often on the Internet, in fact we don’t have a TV license either; we just watch films when we can remember to post the LoveFilm back. My point? Since moving into the house I have started to cook more and more complicated things, I’ve started fixing things that are broken or worn out instead of buying new ones, I’ve started writing and drawing, I’ve planted a vegetable patch, I go out climbing or running and I socialise with friends. Again I’m not saying that I’m destined for stardom but I am definitely more active than I used to be, I feel better about myself and I wouldn’t change a thing. 

Sara:

Having been ill in bed for the past three days (woe is me!) technology has been my friend, keeping me entertained whilst I lie on the sofa feeling sorry for myself.

I caught up on some television on BBC Iplayer, downloaded  films from Itunes - I can highly recommend Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and played some games on my phone.

But is technology always the best medicine?

Sometimes I wonder how many hours I have wasted in front of the television or surfing the internet and whether or not we’d be better off without it. I feel that my television intake has certainly tailed off since having a baby as we don’t watch television when the baby is awake.

It was a conscious decision not to watch the television whilst she was around a) because if we were watching the telly she wouldn’t be getting our full attention and b) she doesn’t need to watch the television at her age. It’s a distraction, she’s a baby and everything is new and entertaining to her.

It bothers me when parents have Cbeebies on in the background all day long. Let your kids play…it’s just distracting them! Maybe it is driven from a need to entertain the child all the time. I understand that playing 247 is wearing and that mums and dads can’t always give 100%, but there is such a thing as over stimulation. I certainly find it difficult to hold a decent conversation if the television is on in the background, so how are young minds supposed to hone important life skills if Makka Pakka is mikka makka moo-ing (?) at them .

That aside, when my daughter gets a little older, I am not going to be a total TV despot. I recently read this article in The Guardian about the merits of Kids TV, and have to say that it put forward a good argument for the pros of watching telly.

Once again an old adage comes to mind which is true of parenting as a whole (and everything in life), everything in moderation, and this will be our line on television as she grows older for her and ourselves, and will probably stick for most of the hurdles we meet along the way.