Parents these days...

I spent the first week in June as the 4 year old coordinator for Parkway's VBS, and it was so much fun! I hadn't been a part of a VBS since I was in high school, and I didn't realize how much I missed it. I really haven't worked with kids very much at all since I moved to Auburn (with the exception of Pine Cove, but that still didn't involve much QT with the kids). When I was in high school I babysat at least 3 days a week and served in the children's ministry as much as possible. Maybe it's just because I don't have that frequent interaction anymore, but I'm very surprised by the things I observe when I'm around kids now. It seems like they're never entertained enough, and they're growing up way to fast.

For instance, the teachers at VBS were constantly trying to make up games and attention grabbers because the children didn't know how to sit and listen or even how to just play together. I realize that they are 4 and their attention span isn't very long, but it was a little ridiculous. It's not too much for a 4 year old to sit and listen to a story. And they all expected to watch a movie in the classes. Really?! 4 year olds shouldn't be so media minded that they expect all information to come out of a television. It makes me wonder how much time and effort is put into some of these kids. I think that technology can be a very good and important tool for development and teaching children. But when it becomes the main source of learning and entertainment it honestly seems a little lazy on the parents part. Is that too big of a statement to make? All I'm wondering is why so many kids (very young children) have all of these games/movies/etc. to entertain them? What happened to playing outside and finger painting? And what happened to the social skills that kids developed when they took part in "normal" kids' activities? It's just weird to me. I saw these on this website. I know statistics are relative, but it is something to think about.

In the United States -

19% of children aged 1 and under have a TV in their bedroom.
29% of children aged 2-3 have a TV in their bedroom.
43% of children aged 4-6 years have a TV in their bedroom.
And this:

“I watch CSI…[S]he sits down and watches with me. I don’t know how harmful it is to her. It’s something gory, but it doesn’t seem to bother her. She hasn’t had any nightmares from it.”

-Mother of a 1-3 year old, Irvine, California

Why in the world would an infant need a TV in their bedroom?!?!

If I think about this too long I get aggravated, so I'm going to stop now. However, I definitely have more to say about kids growing up too fast. This may come in a different post.