Leave them kids alone

[clevermanka]

Article one: Why so many kids can’t sit still in school today

Article two: Men prefer pain to being alone with their thoughts

GOSH I WONDER IF THESE THINGS MIGHT BE RELATED. I don't mean that there's a direct causation, but I do think that not letting children play alone is incredibly damaging to our species. I've brought this up before, and had a great link to an NPR story about it, but that was years ago. Basically, the study showed that children who were not given alone play time, and instead were ushered from activity to playdate, did not develop a sense of personal responsibility like children who were left to play alone or with other children under no adult supervision. And that window for learning that internalized sense of responsibility does not re-open easily, if at all. Terrifying.

Here's something a little lighter. It's Vimeo, not YouTube, so you might have to click the square to get anything to show up. How to film comedy. Not just how to film a bunch of people being funny, but how to use the medium of film to actually show comedy.

Comments

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

The thing that struck me most in that first article is that kids aren't moving like they used to, and that is so very true! When I was in grade and middle school, we had PE every single day. High school, we had it 3 days a week, then Health the other two our freshman year only. After that, we were on our own for PE - our only options were weight training or signing up for one of the athletic teams.

My youngest kid has PE once a week. Once. Recess is routinely canceled for bad weather. What the actual F? *headdesk*

And yeah, he's been diagnosed with ADHD and he is medicated for it. It was that or risk having him kicked out of school in kindergarten.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

That sucks. Poor little guy.

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I can tell a difference in him when he's on his meds and off. I don't give him the meds twice per day - once he's home, he's free to move as much as he wants. If it takes him all evening to do his homework, so be it. And we were lucky enough to find the right medicine that doesn't affect his appetitie in a negative way and doesn't turn him into a zombie.