Is helicoptering making kids less able to socially adapt to new situations?

[AXOrushadvisor]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

You know, this gets said a lot, but I don't know how much truth there is to it. It's got just a little hint of "I walked three miles to school in 12 feet of snow" to it.

Sure, my kids would watch tv or play vidoe games all day if we'd let them. So would I have when I was their age. (Well, tv at least. I'm pre-video games, so for me, it would have been watch tv or read.)

And sure, there are some kids who really do nothing but sit around all day and never get out. But "most"? Hardly, from what I see.

And sure, kids text more than we ever thought possible. But with most of the kids I know, that doesn't translate at all into an inability to carry on a conversation -- something they learned to do before texting was an option for them.

I'm not saying technology doesn't present challenges; it does. And with some kids it presents more challenges than others. But I do think sometimes that we adults really blow those challenges out of proportion. Kids still ride bikes, play sports, do scouts and other clubs . . . .

As for the not spending as much time just playing outdoors in general, I think there are much bigger culprits at work there than technology, but that's another discussion.

There was no TV during the day when I was a kid that I would have wanted to watch. There were only about 8-10 stations too. I can remember in the morning watching Sally Star but I can not even remember TV on at night for kids until the Brady Bunch and Partridge Family and they were on Friday night I think. My mother literally said to me every day "go out and play and don't come home until lunch"- not kidding.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

There was no TV during the day when I was a kid that I would have wanted to watch. There were only about 8-10 stations too. I can remember in the morning watching Sally Star but I can not even remember TV on at night for kids until the Brady Bunch and Partridge Family and they were on Friday night I think. My mother literally said to me every day "go out and play and don't come home until lunch"- not kidding.

This is completely off topic, but...

My mom and I were talking the other day about how there doesn't seem to be any shows for the whole family to watch and enjoy anymore - shows with some good, wholesome comedy and life lessons here and there. I remember watching Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, The Fresh Price of Bel-Air, Home Improvement.. And I watched The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Family Ties, Charles in Charge, Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, etc. in re-runs.

What happened to these?! And why don't they make more shows like them?

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by AXOrushadvisor

There was no TV during the day when I was a kid that I would have wanted to watch. There were only about 8-10 stations too. I can remember in the morning watching Sally Star but I can not even remember TV on at night for kids until the Brady Bunch and Partridge Family and they were on Friday night I think.

We had three stations, but by the time I got home there were cartoons (when I was younger) and shows like Gilligan's Island, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, McHale's Navy, Hogan's Heroes, Bewitched, I Dream of Jeannie, The Partridge Family, The Brady Bunch and (my two favorites) Batman and The Wild, Wild West on after school when I was older. I can remember watching all of those.

My mother literally said to me every day "go out and play and don't come home until lunch"- not kidding.

Exactly. Your mother sent you outside. (And I know you're not kidding, because my mother did the same thing.) Ditto the mothers who found chores to do when kids complained of being bored. It's not that tv [technology] kept us inside, it's that parents redirected us to something else. Computers, internet, video games, tv, etc. are just like anything else in life -- they are not intrinsically bad but children have to be taught how to use them responsibly. So, when children are playing video games instead of going outside, the video games aren't to blame. Blame responsible adults who aren't setting appropriate limits and aren't teaching better habits, or blame a culture that really doesn't support or value things like kids just going outside and playing for hours on end.

The reality is that in many if not most places these days, you won't find many parents who'd just say "go out and play and don't come back until lunch," and there are a variety of reasons, including some very valid ones, for that. We live in a different world today, and it seems to me that things like constantly playing video games are a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself.

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

This is completely off topic, but...

My mom and I were talking the other day about how there doesn't seem to be any shows for the whole family to watch and enjoy anymore - shows with some good, wholesome comedy and life lessons here and there. I remember watching Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, The Fresh Price of Bel-Air, Home Improvement.. And I watched The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Family Ties, Charles in Charge, Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, etc. in re-runs.

What happened to these?! And why don't they make more shows like them?

Because all but two or three of those shows were either too vanilla or awful or both?

My daughter loves Full House. It makes my head hurt.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Because all but two or three of those shows were either too vanilla or awful or both?

You're awful for saying such things!



I just remember being so excited for Friday night tv with the family. What's on tv now that encourages families to spend a night together? Even if 'Full House' isn't your favorite, at least you know that it's something you would feel comfortable watching with your daughter.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

You're awful for saying such things!

I know. Ain't I a stinker?

I just remember being so excited for Friday night tv with the family. What's on tv now that encourages families to spend a night together? Even if 'Full House' isn't your favorite, at least you know that it's something you would feel comfortable watching with your daughter.

Are you kidding? There's no way a show like that could work as a family tv night in our house. She watches it now and her brother comes in the room and asks why in the world she is watching "that awful show." I know it's not pc to say it, but I think that like most of those Friday night shows you listed, it's not a show that lots of guys are going to willingly watch.

No, I wouldn't have to worry about the language or suggestive situations. But that's just not enough.

[ASTalumna06]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

I know. Ain't I a stinker?

Are you kidding? There's no way a show like that could work as a family tv night in our house. She watches it now and her brother comes in the room and asks why in the world she is watching "that awful show." I know it's not pc to say it, but I think that like most of those Friday night shows you listed, it's not a show that lots of guys are going to willingly watch.

No, I wouldn't have to worry about the language or suggestive situations. But that's just not enough.

Haha.. Well that's more what I'm getting at - the content of the show. I'm not saying you HAVE to watch 'Full House' .. Or maybe you do now because there aren't as many options for family shows as there used to be.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

Haha.. Well that's more what I'm getting at - the content of the show. I'm not saying you HAVE to watch 'Full House' .. Or maybe you do now because there aren't as many options for family shows as there used to be.

I don't know -- Disney channel is full of current equivalents of Full House. But as a family, we prefer things like The Amazing Race or Chopped, or DVDs of things like I Love Lucy or The Andy Griffith Show.

[Mevara]

Originally Posted by ASTalumna06

This is completely off topic, but...

My mom and I were talking the other day about how there doesn't seem to be any shows for the whole family to watch and enjoy anymore - shows with some good, wholesome comedy and life lessons here and there. I remember watching Family Matters, Full House, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Hangin' with Mr. Cooper, The Fresh Price of Bel-Air, Home Improvement.. And I watched The Brady Bunch, The Partridge Family, Family Ties, Charles in Charge, Who's the Boss, Growing Pains, etc. in re-runs.

What happened to these?! And why don't they make more shows like them?

What's wrong with shows like Modern Family, Glee, American Idol (and the likes)?