What is family life in New Mexico like without Screens?
I grew up in the 1950s and 60s when the idea of a personal computer was the stuff of science fiction I’m not even sure there were any stories written that went beyond the massive IBM type computers used to take over a classic 1984 type science fiction world. Personal computers? Impossible!
So when I look around me at kids as young as 18 months fixated on a tiny computer screen, I marvel. Then I cringe.
I realize computers are a fact of daily life. I am on one for several hours every day in the course of handling Magic Zoo business. But I actually wish I didn’t have to be on a computer at all!
I’ve never been a fan of screens, beginning with television screens.
My own kids, growing up in the 1970s and 80s didn’t even have TV for entertainment. That was by choice. Mine and my husband’s. Poor kids, right?
Not so much. David and Cedar had all sorts of interesting ways to keep happy and entertained. They drew. They wrote short stories. They had a tape recorder and recorded their own little skits. I could hear them laughing uproariously from my studio while they were at it.
We did all go to the occasional family movie. But even that was part of an all day outing that involved shopping in our local farmer’s market and hiking in the hills of Marin County California.
David and Cedar grew up happy, creative and still working (at least part time) as artists when they reached adulthood. To me, that denoted wild success in parenting
What About 21st Century Kids?
So now I’m a Grandmother. My 3 grand kids live on our property with their mom and dad (David is their father.)
How do these grand kids entertain themselves? They ride their bikes. They hike and make up explorer games on our 20 acres. They read. They draw. They catch and release the salamanders in our pond. The 9 year old is learning several languages. The 8 year old is learning how to build rockets using vinegar and baking soda as fuel. The 14 year old is an avid reader and a visual artist.
The youngest two belong to our local 4-H. Although their only current pets are a couple of cats, they love farm animals too. (I love this photo of 8 year old Cassidy holding a new-born lamb, even if it is a bit blurry!)
They know how to use a computer as a tool. But it is emphatically not a source of entertainment for them. I hope it never is.
So much is lost if a child is not encouraged to be creative. If I could state one of my missions in life, it would be to reawaken creativity in as many people as possible. That really means everyone, including adults who think they’re “too old” to learn a new creative pursuit.
You, too Can be Creative!
When kids see the adults around them involved in the joy of creating, that makes an impression on them. It becomes something that seems possible. They become the source of something uniquely their own. And we become a good influence on the generations that follow.
What would you like to do in your life to be more creative? Write a memoir? Learn how to cook Keto-style? Take a painting class? Please tell me right here on this blog, and I promise to answer you! I really do want to know.
Your Animal Loving Artist,
Merry