Comments on: Toxic Childhood? http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/ ...or .NET and other stuff that wouldn't fit into Mike's day job. Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:53:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.2 By: MikeFitz with overflow bit set... http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1944 MikeFitz with overflow bit set... Wed, 01 Nov 2006 15:55:35 +0000 http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1944 <strong>“The Glass House” Axed!...</strong> Shattered Shards Scattered; Satirical Scripts Shredded! Really angry tonight! At the end of tonight’s episode of The Glass House, Wil Anderson announced that the year’s final episode on November 29 would be the last Glass House ever.  ... “The Glass House” Axed!…

Shattered Shards Scattered; Satirical Scripts Shredded!
Really angry tonight! At the end of tonight’s episode of The Glass House, Wil Anderson announced that the year’s final episode on November 29 would be the last Glass House ever.  …

]]> By: MikeFitz http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1622 MikeFitz Sun, 08 Oct 2006 02:25:44 +0000 http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1622 MmeBoff: Good point about kids not having their own TVs too early. #1 Son bought his own TV by working at a part-time job, saving up and buying it himself. #2 Son had serious ADHD and, when he was young, literally could not sit down long enough to watch TV. He would rather click on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random" rel="nofollow" rel="nofollow">Wikipedia Random Article</a> link 20 times before bed. #3 Son doesn't seem particularly attracted to TV, but he does watch episodes of a sci-fi series called "Serenity" on his PC. Ashleigh: We've had our <em>Runescape</em> period; there's now something more sinister called "<em>Eve Online</em>", an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Still dealing with this one. Huggies: We've been fortunate to avoid any infestation of Commercial TV watching. We've been able to do this by a) not watching it ourselves, and b) quietly disparaging it, hilighting its deficiencies and pointing out how the ads are designed to manipulate. Now, if the TV is left on a commercial station by accident, eg when those bottom-of-the-barrel "current affairs" programs come on after the 6pm news, the <strong>kids tell us</strong> to turn the TV off! (Bwuh-ha-ha-ha! our brainwashing has worked.) I think <em>Beyond Tomorrow</em> and <em>The Simpsons</em> are the only commercial TV programs that get watched at our place. MmeBoff: Good point about kids not having their own TVs too early. #1 Son bought his own TV by working at a part-time job, saving up and buying it himself. #2 Son had serious ADHD and, when he was young, literally could not sit down long enough to watch TV. He would rather click on the Wikipedia Random Article link 20 times before bed. #3 Son doesn’t seem particularly attracted to TV, but he does watch episodes of a sci-fi series called “Serenity” on his PC.

Ashleigh: We’ve had our Runescape period; there’s now something more sinister called “Eve Online“, an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game). Still dealing with this one.

Huggies: We’ve been fortunate to avoid any infestation of Commercial TV watching. We’ve been able to do this by
a) not watching it ourselves, and
b) quietly disparaging it, hilighting its deficiencies and pointing out how the ads are designed to manipulate.

Now, if the TV is left on a commercial station by accident, eg when those bottom-of-the-barrel “current affairs” programs come on after the 6pm news, the kids tell us to turn the TV off! (Bwuh-ha-ha-ha! our brainwashing has worked.)

I think Beyond Tomorrow and The Simpsons are the only commercial TV programs that get watched at our place.

]]> By: Huggies http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1618 Huggies Sat, 07 Oct 2006 11:51:32 +0000 http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1618 The greed of today's society is creeping into every aspect of life including the lives of young kids. We just need to look at what crap they advertise on TV when the kiddies shows are TV. Advertising crap food for kiddies all for the mighty dollar. Not a great path to lead the young kiddies of today. The greed of today’s society is creeping into every aspect of life including the lives of young kids. We just need to look at what crap they advertise on TV when the kiddies shows are TV. Advertising crap food for kiddies all for the mighty dollar.

Not a great path to lead the young kiddies of today.

]]> By: MadameBoffin http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1617 MadameBoffin Sat, 07 Oct 2006 09:31:59 +0000 http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1617 hehe yes. The only people who benefit from <i>that</i> future are the psychiatrists! hehe yes. The only people who benefit from that future are the psychiatrists!

]]> By: Ashleigh http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1613 Ashleigh Fri, 06 Oct 2006 08:12:12 +0000 http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1613 Ms B has it in one. Balance is a good thing. I've got kids that read, play game-boy, play computer games (Runescape is the current craze), run, swim, kick balls, play cricket, find stuff and make things, climb trees, watch TV. Somewhere in there they find time to go to school as well. Too much of anything is not good - and I'm cracking down a bit on the Runescape because they'd do that to excess without the occasional harsh word. But they are out so much that they have destroyed the lawn and I'm trying to get them to stay off it for a while so it can grow back! Two of my absolute pet hates: - Pushing children to do well acedemically. Parents should push them to do their best, not to achieve a doctorate in post-prandial abstract mathematics before age 14. Doing ones best is important for self esteem, and who knows where it will lead. Pressure from a young age creates terrible personality problems in later life. - Parents who schedule time for activities and act as a taxi service. This seems to be some kind of modern phenomenon, before cars parents COULD NOT do this. What is with this modern desire to have evenings and weekends filled with activities. Children NEED TO BE BORED. More on this last point. From boredom comes creative thought. Boredom leads to children who think, make things, climb trees, look at stuff to see whats there, or how something works, or whats inside.... Children who are endlessly shepherded between activities never have a chance to do this. Children need to explore, and we have this strange modern desire to prevent them from doing this, and protect them from danger. It's creating a bunch of spolied, molly-coddled, high expectation, low self-esteem, unimaginative, social misfits. What a crap future, for them and for us. Ms B has it in one. Balance is a good thing.

I’ve got kids that read, play game-boy, play computer games (Runescape is the current craze), run, swim, kick balls, play cricket, find stuff and make things, climb trees, watch TV. Somewhere in there they find time to go to school as well.

Too much of anything is not good - and I’m cracking down a bit on the Runescape because they’d do that to excess without the occasional harsh word. But they are out so much that they have destroyed the lawn and I’m trying to get them to stay off it for a while so it can grow back!

Two of my absolute pet hates:

- Pushing children to do well acedemically. Parents should push them to do their best, not to achieve a doctorate in post-prandial abstract mathematics before age 14. Doing ones best is important for self esteem, and who knows where it will lead. Pressure from a young age creates terrible personality problems in later life.

- Parents who schedule time for activities and act as a taxi service. This seems to be some kind of modern phenomenon, before cars parents COULD NOT do this. What is with this modern desire to have evenings and weekends filled with activities. Children NEED TO BE BORED.

More on this last point. From boredom comes creative thought. Boredom leads to children who think, make things, climb trees, look at stuff to see whats there, or how something works, or whats inside…. Children who are endlessly shepherded between activities never have a chance to do this. Children need to explore, and we have this strange modern desire to prevent them from doing this, and protect them from danger.

It’s creating a bunch of spolied, molly-coddled, high expectation, low self-esteem, unimaginative, social misfits. What a crap future, for them and for us.

]]> By: MadameBoffin http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1606 MadameBoffin Thu, 05 Oct 2006 12:44:57 +0000 http://mike.brisgeek.com/2006/10/05/toxic-childhood/#comment-1606 I think it's all a question of balance, parents deciding what works and what's right for their family and then placing firm boundaries. Having said that, I can't see any justification for kids watching TV for more than 4 hours a day, or playing on the computer for more than the same. I also don't think kids should have their own TV/computer until the mid-teens (15'ish) and I think kids shouldn't be allowed to play violent games until the same age. I also find the high level of scheduling that parents do to keep their kids busy a little disturbing. Less pressure and little more [non-TV/computer related] fun should be encouraged, especially with younger kids. I think it’s all a question of balance, parents deciding what works and what’s right for their family and then placing firm boundaries. Having said that, I can’t see any justification for kids watching TV for more than 4 hours a day, or playing on the computer for more than the same. I also don’t think kids should have their own TV/computer until the mid-teens (15′ish) and I think kids shouldn’t be allowed to play violent games until the same age. I also find the high level of scheduling that parents do to keep their kids busy a little disturbing. Less pressure and little more [non-TV/computer related] fun should be encouraged, especially with younger kids.

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