by Marion Garcia

Created on: June 27, 2009

Technology: its effects on children.

Children of earlier generations were children. Nine and twelve year old girls were still playing with dolls. Boys would build a race car out of a box. Children would spend hours outside playing hide and seek or tag.

Video games take up all of their time. How many types of video game consoles are out there? The Wii, Game Cube, X-Box, X-Box 360, and the Playstation 3, just to name a few. Then there are all the PC games and downloadable Internet games. There are many types of video games, something to interest everyone. Some three year olds can play better than a grownup. The video games are cool even I get into playing them. Wish we had some of them when I was growing up. But, getting the kids to go outside and play is another story. Gone are the days of big wheels and bicycles. Thank God for school sports, the kids would probably never get any exercise.

Schools have geared their classes to include computerized learning. Art classes include creating images on the computer. Elementary schools have Applied Tech.; a child can learn anything from how to build a bridge to fixing a computer. Second and third graders are learning how to type, surfing the internet, and AIM messaging. These kids could teach me a few things about the computer. Homework has turned into projects that require a computer. Gone are the days of everyday homework.

Second graders have their own cell phones with no restrictions attached. You're not cool if you don't have one! Reading their text messages is like learning a new language. Soon there will be new entries in the Webster dictionary.

Then there is the iPods. Every child from second grade up has one. You can download music from the internet or disks on the PC.

Digital cameras, almost every child has one. Some children have more pictures than I've accumulated over my lifetime.

Calculators are used more in the math classes. Most children can't recite their times tables. Ask a child to reduce a fraction without using a calculator.

The cell phones can be a necessity when a child must be alone at their sports practices or other events. It helps parents to keep a safe distance and relieve some of the worry about being away from them. I do think however parents should set more guidelines.

Children are simply not children anymore. Our children are being tossed into a grownup world at a very young age. We are not raising children, we are raising

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