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Education Shock and Awe Video

New Academic Year, New Opportunities and Challenges

Our children just started school and, therefore, a new chapter in our family's life has opened. Our daughter turned five this month and just started kindergarten. Our eldest, seven, enters his third year of public school as a second grader. 

Opportunities abound for both of our children. They will learn new skills and concepts, build, comprehend and maintain interpersonal relationships, practice following directions from adults other than us, their parents, and become more independent thinkers.

At the same time, however, we are acutely aware of the challenges they and their teachers face. In California classes are bursting at the seams due to the budget cuts schools are enduring as our state continues to face the financial crisis that has become the new norm. Our son excelled last year in first grade and is reading much higher than his grade level; he was also identified as "gifted and talented" although don't worry, it hasn't gone to our heads nor to his since we understand what that means (and it doesn't mean he's "super smart" but simply thinks differently than other children at this stage). Despite all of this, he has been placed in a grade 1/2 combo class with well over thirty students. Although his teacher appears ready and willing to differentiate instruction and curriculum within the course —which is a fancy way of saying she has what it takes to create "classes within a class" to meet the needs of her various students—no one can argue that is an easy feat to accomplish. Kindergarten classes have not been spared either and our daughter's teacher must face a classroom of well over thirty eager and energetic little faces most of whom are ready but unable to read.

Despite the challenges, we and millions of other parents of students in public, charter and private schools send our precious offspring off to be educated by others. May our educators realize the weighty responsibility they have taken on and work diligently to ensure our students reach their potential! At the same time may we, the families, parents and guardians, also understand our role in this process and support our children, their teachers and their learning institutions by doing our part as well. Together we can build a brighter future and create the generations that will solve the major problems that confront us as a nation and as a global society.

Here's to a new school year, the opportunities and the challenges!

Reading to Young Children for Fun and for Learning

My sister recently pointed out a study she heard about on NPR regarding how minor changes in reading to young children can have major positive effects in terms of their ability to learn to read. To save you time I will sum up the findings in one sentence: Reading to very young children doesn't necessarily help them learn how to read but, by asking questions that require them to look at the text itself, they learn to read much faster without turning reading into an overtly "educational" act.

Of course simply reading to children the "old fashioned way" has numerous benefits. Sitting down and reading to your young child as they listen, stare at the pictures or even zone out a little bit creates social bonds, promotes reading as entertainment–thus spurring independent reading in the future–builds their vocabulary and strengthens the brain in general. But research–and my own personal experience with my children–indicates that simply reading stories and books to children does not teach them how to read independently. I think, then, that we should read to children for fun and, occasionally, for more than that and the remainder of this post sets out some simple ways to move beyond just "fun reading."

Here are two methods that don't take up a lot of time but can be catalysts to help your child start recognizing letters and words will will propel them forward and promote pre-reading skills. You'll find these simple "tricks" will help your young child get a jump start on reading or, if he or she is older, support his or her in-class reading education:

• Text related questions: As the article suggests, one of the easiest ways to make reading more about reading is to ask your child simple questions that draw his or her attention to the text itself, rather than asking questions only about the pictures or general comprehension. So, along with questions such as "What just happened to the dump truck?" you also ask questions such as "Where do you see the letter 'W' in this sentence?" or "Do you see the word 'blue'?" The complexity of the questions, of course, depends on your child's age and his or her letter or word recognition skills. My daughter protests when I ask too many of these questions but over time she has grown more accustomed to it and, we've found, is more open to the process now that her reading skills have increased. Just tonight, however, she absolutely refused to answer questions and simply wanted me to read "Fancy Nancy." I complied and for good reason, I don't want to suck the fun out of reading. She promised tomorrow she'd answer some of my questions.
  
  
  

• Sight words: Although the brain is said to be "wired for language," it is not necessarily wired for reading. In other words, despite its importance reading doesn't come naturally or easily to most children. While learning to speak comes naturally, reading requires practice and work and some children pick it up faster and easier than others, but almost any child can learn to read well. One easy way to prime the pump for rapid reading acquisition is to make your child familiar with sight words. "Sight words" is a phrase used to refer to words that a reader should know automatically without "sounding them out." Phonics sight words are also called "high frequency" words because they appear very often in texts. Words such as "the," "is," "me" and "at" are just a few examples. I have found they are not always easy to describe and learning them usually requires  repetitive "drilling" which, of course, sounds boring and terrible but can actually be made into a fun game that children genuinely enjoy. It is vital to help your child learn these words because they greatly affect the rate of fluency or, in other words, the ability for your child to read smoothly and relatively quickly (*not speed reading mind you- see the note below) while also remembering what he or she has read. If parents and teachers drop the ball early on, a child can struggle to catch up with his peers and find himself in intervention classes or, worse, fall further and further behind as the years go on. 

• Here are some easy and fun ways to work with your child to learn the sight words:

• Create or print out cards on which are printed a word and, optionally, a picture (or on which you print/write a word and have your child draw a picture). Once you have some cards you can then play a game of memory or simply show the card, say the word and then go back through and see which words your child remembers, prompting her when she cannot recall the word. It's important to make it into a "game" which often simply means calling it a game. There are obviously many variations of how one might do this. Have some fun and get creative. Google "sight words" or "sight words cards" and you'll find hundreds of resources. We really like Chris Biffle's "Biffytoons" which are free. Go to WholeBrainTeaching.com (or google it) and register (it's free!) and then download the BiffyToons sight word cards OR download the electronic version (available as a PowerPoint).
  
  
  
  
  
• Download a digital application for your smart phone, computer or tablet. There are many but the best ones cost a dollar or a few bucks. I suggest downloading a free version and then, if you like it, make the purchase. Once again, there are many. Perhaps I'll add a list here later or readers can list their favorites in the comments section or on Facebook. If you want to see the Facebook ads feel free to add me as a friend (http://www.facebook.com/DanielJTodd).

Just think, in Kindergarten students generally learn about 30 sight words but during that year, or even the year before entering kinder, your child can easily learn 50 or more words. And before anyone gets uptight about this, no one is claiming that your child's future hinges on the memorization of these words nor does it mean he or she will become a famous author later in life. What it can do, however, is set your smart kid off on the right path and give him or her a big jump early on which, research has shown, often provides a boost that follows him or her from grade level to grade level and, eventually, into a life of success, freedom and happiness.

*Note: Some children who become too focused on reading quickly because they realize that how fast they read is important. Teachers and parents must help them understand it's not speed that's important, although there is a certain speed or fluency that's important to attain. Instead it's even more important that the child comprehends what he or she reads and creates "mental images" or pictures to go along with the words. It's better for a child to read a little bit too slowly initially and comprehend most of what he or she reads than the other way around.

Smart Toys and Books for Smart Kids

Kids will be kids, and smart kids will be smart kids. To ensure your smart kid's brain is stimulated in a variety of ways you need to present him or her with a variety of activities, including engaging books and "smart toys."

The Everything Kids' Magical Science Experiments Book is as addictive as screen-time for young children and although it may require some adult energy to make it successful, the payoff for your child's brain is enormous!

Before we get to the "smart toys," let's talk books for a moment. Getting our children to read is absolutely imperative and it's easy enough if we've been reading with them since the beginning of their lives. If we haven't, we're going to have to make up for lost time.

First off, if you've dropped the ball in the whole reading thing and your kid "hates to read" or, rather, claims he hates to read, you'll need to find some engaging books and you'll probably need to read together to jump start the engine.

The goal should be approximately thirty minutes of reading on most days; even fifteen minutes-a-day works out to be exposure to about a million words a year and, according to some research, students in the 90th percentile of achievement read an average of 40 minutes a day—about 2.3 million words a yea —while students in the 10th percentile read an average of two minutes a day—50,000 words per year. In other words, while many factors contribute to exceptional performance in school, one of the key factors is the sheer amount of reading a child does.

If you are having trouble finding books that your child enjoys, try website like THIS one or simply head down to the local public library and poke around or ask for assistance from a librarian (hopefully you find someone willing and able to help, if not send me an email and I'll be glad to recommend some books). If you still have trouble, perhaps it's time to talk to your child and get to know what makes her curious. Let's be honest, it's probably good for all of us to have authentic "check-ins" with our kids more often. Just because we're around one another all day doesn't mean we're making sincere connections as much as we should. Reading together and discussing literature is a great way to build the family network and strengthen it. It's amazing the kinds of discussions that pop up when we talk about reading; often discussions about books have more to do with the narrative of our lives than they do the plot of whatever story is being read and that's one major reason to read together and/or talk to kids about what they're reading.

So, if you want smart kids, make sure they're reading!

Smart Toys

OK, now on to the toys (cue the squealing children sound-byte). Let's get the obvious part out of the way: kids don't need much more than an empty box or a backyard to play and exercise their imaginations and to socialize with one another and/or caring adults.

When we were children we all made do with whatever it was we had to work with, and some of us had more than others. As a young child I recall that my most treasured possessions were my bike, an abacus I received one year for Christmas, a LiteBrite that was always missing pieces and, of course, a big box of stubby crayons and pencils. Other items and toys came and went, but it was my imagination and my pedaling legs that fed my brain along with a kind and loving mother who read to me.

Toys in general including blocks, train sets, balls, etc.are all "educational" in the sense they help children learn about the world around them. Most of these, however, don't "work" without someone with whom to play. So, we all need to get down and sit on the floor a little more often and "play" to make the toys "work." With that said, here are a few specific items that you may want to consider to add to your child's experience. Since I don't want to assault you with too many more words, here is a list with a brief explanation of why each toy has the potential to make make your smart kid smarter:


Board Games

Board games? That's it? I came to this lousy blog with the hopes of maybe finding something worthwhile for my kids and you tell me to get board-games? Yes, yes indeed. Board-games were once a staple of the family junk closet—shoved under beds, tucked under couches and coffee-tables and now it seems in large part they've been relegated to the dusty shelves at grandmas house. Oh, what's that? You still play them? Good! Board games are great for children;s developing minds. Not only do they learn valuable social skills as they play, make mistakes, argue and work through conflict, but there are many academic skills embedded in the average game such as number, letter and shape recognition as well as reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

According to an article on Scholastic Parents "...board games can teach important social skills, such as communicating verbally, sharing, waiting, taking turns, and enjoying interaction with others. Board games can foster the ability to focus, and lengthen your child's attention span by encouraging the completion of an exciting, enjoyable game. Even simple board games like "Chutes and Ladders" offer meta-messages and life skills: Your luck can change in an instant — for the better or for the worse. The message inherent in board games is: Never give up. Just when you feel despondent, you might hit the jackpot and ascend up high, if you stay in the game for just a few more moves."

So, dust off the old board games or head over to the store (or click over to Amazon) and pick up whatever games you think you and your child will enjoy and watch those dendrites grow!

Science and Art Activity Books

The book mentioned at the beginning of this article, The Everything Kids' Magical Science Experiments Book, is a perfect example of a resource that is filled with ingenious do-it-yourself activities and experiments for children they find fascinating and also provide a great opportunity to learn about physics, chemistry and science in general. Yes, this does require effort on your part, but as I mentioned previously, it pays major dividends. There are many similar titles for kids of all ages and temperaments, including general activitiy books and those that focus on art. Click here to browse some on Amazon.

Bucky Balls (ages 6+ with *adult supervision)

"Bucky Balls" magnets get their name from Buckminster Fuller, the man who pioneered those trippy geodesic homes made popular around the 1960s. There are plenty of knock-off brands that cost a little less, but in my experience it's best to go with this mainstream brand because you can be assured that these are made out of the rare earth magnet that allow them to be strong and uber-engaging. Once you pick these up you will find they are very addictive because they can be made into almost any shape. This is a toy that requires thought to master but, fortunately, it doesn't require anything more than curiosity initially. So, if your child is old enough to not stick these in his or her mouth I suggest picking up a pack. They're not cheap and they are potentially dangerous, so keep this in mind and be sure to keep them away from young children and put away when not in use.

Legos, Blocks and other "Construction" Style Toys

Yes, I purposeful chose a girl's Lego set because girls also enjoy construction style toys, although I find my daughter only likes to play with her set if someone else joins her. There are many different brands and styles including advanced sets that come with electric motors, etc. but sometimes nothing's better than good old fashioned wooden blocks. Fine motor skills, planning and social skills these toys require will have your smart kid's brain working over time!

If you have any other ideas for "smart toys," and I know there are many, many others, please share them with us!

It is my hope that something in this article will strike a chord with you and that you'll keep doing your best as you work with children whether it be at home, school, church or in the community.

Note: I know my spacing and formatting is a bit off. As time goes on I hope to use more robust tools and lean on friends in low places where the FPS games and the chewable caffeine takes their blues away for help. Until then, deal with it! (smile)

Why A College Education Isn't for Everyone

I just came across an opinion piece by Robert J. Samuelson in the Washington Post in which he argues that the crusade for all students to go to college is not only unrealistic, but foolhardy. As a father and educator, I must say I agree. Yes, I personally hope my own children obtain a post-secondary education, but that doesn't necessarily mean attending a college or university.

Every individual should consider him or herself a "life-long learner" and should seek additional education and training in his or her respective field.  If my son wants to become a carpenter, I hope he becomes one of the best and seeks vocational training as early as possible and works hard to earn his living and enjoy success in his trade. If that is indeed the career he chooses does he need to go $30-150,000 into debt to earn a degree or two in engineering or business. No! 

If you have been paying attention to the recent spate of  US student debt stories in the news then you understand what a massive problem it has become for us as a nation.The new Common Core Standards--the new national standards which more than 46 states have adopted--focus on college and career readiness and rightly so. If your son or daughter is not interested in college, don't force the issue and instead look for ways to help him/her focus on other forms of post-secondary education that, in many cases, will prove to be more effective and lucrative anyway. These may include vocational training, apprenticeships, certificate programs, etc. that offer an "in" to a field and the potential to grow and "move up."

Below I have excerpted a few highlights from the article mentioned above (I have emboldened certain lines for added emphasis):

"College-for-all has been a major blunder. One size doesn’t fit all, as sociologist James Rosenbaum of Northwestern University has argued. The need is to motivate the unmotivated. One way is to forge closer ties between high school and jobs. Yet, vocational education is de-emphasized and disparaged. Apprenticeship programs combining classroom and on-the-job training — programs successful in Europe — are sparse [in the U.S.]...

"The rap against employment-oriented schooling is that it traps...[many]...in low-paying, dead-end jobs. Actually, an unrealistic expectation of college often traps them into low-paying, dead-end jobs — or no job. Learning styles differ. 'Apprenticeship in other countries does a better job of engaging students,' says Lerman. 'We want to diversify the routes to rewarding careers.' Downplaying these programs denies some students the pride and self-confidence of mastering difficult technical skills, while also fostering labor shortages.

"Most jobs — 69 percent in 2010, estimates the Labor Department — don’t require a post-high-school degree. They’re truck drivers, store clerks, some technicians. On paper, we’re turning out enough college graduates to meet our needs.

The real concern is the quality of graduates at all levels. The fixation on college-going, justified in the early postwar decades, stigmatizes those who don’t go to college and minimizes their needs for more vocational skills. It cheapens the value of a college degree and spawns the delusion that only the degree — not the skills and knowledge behind it — matters. We need to rethink."

Check our the full article HERE although since it is quite short I have included most of it above.

Failure and Mistakes Are Part of Learning

 

Is your child allowed to make mistakes in school without being punished with poor test scores and bad grades? Research and common sense tell us that making mistakes is a natural part of learning and good teachers know that paying attention to the errors students make is an absolutely key aspect of effective instruction. After reading this post you will understand something that even some teachers have yet to comprehend and with this knowledge you will be able to ensure your child’s educational needs are being met.

The following scenario demonstrates how important it is for teachers to allow their students to make mistakes in order to help them:

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Practicing and making mistakes are vital aspects of learning to do anything.

Lisa stood just the way her coach had taught her to stand and held the bow carefully. She eyed her target, drew back the string, steadied her arms, aimed and released. The arrow flew straight and struck the target five inches low and slightly to the left. She drew another projectile from her quiver and followed the same process. The second arrow found its home slightly closer to the red center of the target but it too landed low and left. The coach signaled Lisa to pause and she lowered her bow.
                “Nice shooting Lisa! You’ve improved a lot since we first started last month. I think you can hit that bull’s eye though. What do you think?”
                “Well,” Lisa said thoughtfully, “yes, I think so…but I am not sure what I’m doing wrong.”
                “Oh, it’s not about what you’re doing wrong,” said the coach with a smile, “it’s about what you can do better. I’ve been watching you shoot now for several weeks and there’s one more thing I’ve noticed we can improve. We need to work on your breathing.”
                “Breathing?” restated Lisa in a slightly surprised tone.
                “Yes. You are standing very still and you’ve learned to hold your arms steady and I can see you’re aiming the way we talked about but you’re not controlling your breathing. Your breath can cause very small movements that can make a big difference in where the arrow lands. What I want you to do is breathe in and out, in and out, and at the bottom of the breath—when all the air is out of your lungs and you’re the most still—release. Right at that small moment, gently release the string. Do you want to try that? Remember, no one expects you to be perfect, it’s all about practice. The junior beginner’s tournament isn’t for another month, so we have a lot of time to practice.”
                “OK, I want to try.” Lisa looked thoughtful and eager.
                “All right, let’s see how that works!” exclaimed her coach enthusiastically.
                Lisa drew an arrow, notched it, drew back and aimed at the target. She paid attention to her breathing and at the bottom of her third breath, she gently released the arrow. Thunk! The arrow struck the target and this time it was just outside the bull’s eye. She repeated the process and the next arrow landed right in the bull’s-eye. She lowered the bow and couldn’t contain her smile.
                “Wow! That really works!”
                “Nice shooting!” Now, let’s see it a few more times. It doesn’t guarantee a bulls-eye every time, but I think we can get pretty close most of the time. Coach couldn’t contain his smile either.

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Now, let’s think about some of the things Lisa’s coach did to help her. First of all, he taught her the fundamentals of archery. Secondly, she had time to practice without penalties. Finally—and this is the key point for our purposes—the coach allowed his pupil to make mistakes and then he showed her what she could do differently to increase her achievement.

A natural part of learning is making mistakes. We’ve all heard about how the greatest leaders and inventors failed many times before they succeeded. So, the question I pose for us is this: are our children allowed to make mistakes in school?

Typically children in the public school classroom are not allowed to make enough mistakes. Often the teacher designs a lesson—or more likely opens up a textbook and looks at a particular activity or skill (a set of math problems or a reading selection)—and teaches a skill and then turns time over to the students to practice. Here is where students are supposed to make mistakes, ask questions and get help. Often, however, there isn’t enough time or sufficient instruction for them to demonstrate what it is exactly that they misunderstand. 

After some class work, students are assigned homework. Numerous studies have determined that homework should be synonymous with practice and students should only practice what they already understand. So, if a student is given homework regarding a concept or skill they haven’t nearly mastered, it generally ends up not getting done or a parent has to complete it to ensure it is done and completed correctly.

The next day students may correct this work together or, as is most often the case, with the teachers help. Sometimes the homework is graded without any additional help. If you find out this is the case for your child then seek help immediately (first ask the teacher and if your questions aren’t answered, seek out an instructional leader such as an assistant principal or principal). Homework should not be used as punishment or for a grade. Sure, students need to do their homework, but if they’re receiving a grade based on that work then it isn’t homework, it is an assessment/test and they should have already had time to practice and receive feedback.

After the lesson and practice and feedback, students should be given a quiz or two which don’t count for a grade but are designed to tell the teacher and the student what it is they have or have not understand. Finally, after receiving re-teaching and review lessons they confront the big test, or final, which counts for a grade. I’ve often heard students say, “I hope I do well on the test!” or “I wonder what the test will be like.” If your child is making statements like these, please take note because if his or her teacher is following the latest research then the teacher will have worked ensure that your child knows exactly what the test will be like and will have prepared them for it.

 

This doesn’t mean that your child knows what all the questions will be so they can memorize the answers; it means that your child clearly knows how the test will be set up and exactly which concepts and skills are going to be assessed. Remember, in an effective classroom your child will have already taken at least two tests that look just like the “final” and they’ve had a chance to make mistakes and the teacher will have used the results to inform herself regarding what your child and his/her peers need to review.

So, imagine that Lisa’s archery coach simply showed her all the skills necessary to become an accurate archer (lesson)  and then let her practice on her own (homework). Then, the next day he asks her to shoot ten arrows at a target. Then, after the assessment of her skills, he assigned her a score based on a 0-100 scale. Her score would depend on the natural talent she brought to the initial instruction as well as the level of help and practice she got at home. If the coach terminated lessons with all of the archers who scored below 60 then all he would really be doing is discovering which students are naturally good archers or have families who are in to archery. He’d be less of a teacher and more of a talent coach. Does your child have a teacher or a talent coach for math or science or English? What the coach did in our scenario, however, was assess his pupil and then re-teach based on the mistakes she made. That is what we’re asking teachers to do. Of course educators have fancy terminology and you should be aware of these terms so you can ask questions of the administrators and teachers at your child’s school.

A formative assessment is an assessment, or test, that does not count for a grade— or at least for a significant portion of a grade. A formative assessment is designed to form or inform the teacher’s instruction. In other words, the results from a formative assessment are used to design a re-teach or review lesson. In the “real world” this looks simple: your child receives a lesson, gets some time to practice with the teacher and her peers, does some individual practice and then takes a 10 question quiz. She gets 7 of the questions correct but misses 3 questions. 2 of the three questions she missed centered, say, on subtraction. Since she is not the only one who missed the subtraction questions, the teacher realizes she needs to spend some additional time going over subtraction again with the class and does so. The students take another quiz that has the same kinds of problems but with different numbers, etc. This time your child scores 9/10 and since the class average is about 85%, the teacher knows the students are ready for a summative assessment after one more brief review. Let’s say a student scored a 100%, then that student needs enrichment; a student who scores 0% may need some intervention, or specialized help.

A summative assessment is a test that counts for a grade. It looks very similar to the formative assessments because it is measuring the same concepts and skills that the students faced on the formative assessments. Because the summative assessment counts for a grade, it has more items, or questions, because we want to make sure your child’s subtraction skills are not being measured by just two questions. Perhaps there will be four questions on subtraction, but they’ll all be at the same level of difficulty (aka rigor) as those on the formative assessment.

The vital point that you need to understand as a parent is that your child deserves a chance to make mistakes without being punished. If school is confusing and scary, you need to ask tough questions and then, perhaps, make some tough decisions about the educational agency (e.g. school, school district, etc.) with which you’re entrusting your child. In most cases, effective principals want parents to help them put positive pressure on teachers to update their practice and ensure student learning is taking place. As I often tell my fellow educators, “You haven’t taught it until they’ve learned it.” If it were all about teaching and not learning, why not just put the Discovery Channel on all day and have the kids sit in front of it?

Don't take my word for it. Check out Rick Wormeli talking about the importance of formative assessments:

Screen Time: Video Game Addiction and Your Child's Well-Being

Note: The key information in this article is in bold, so if you just want a quick take on this article, please feel free to look for the bolded text).

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I will be one of the first to defend an individual's rights, including the right to play video games. I am comfortable calling myself a "gamer," although I must admit I have spent very little time on my Xbox lately. In years past, however, I think it's safe to say there were periods of time during which I probably played video games too much.


Although I can't say I have ever really suffered major consequences due to my habit, it is very safe to say I lost sleep sometimes and even avoided social activities I might have otherwise enjoyed if I weren't so excited to dive back into a firefight online with my buddies, some of whom I had never met in "meat space" (the term for the real world of flesh and bones).

So, while I do hold fast to the belief that video games are not only fun but can even have educational value, I do declare that many--if not the majority--of the most popular video games are violent and/or in some way inappropriate for children to play. Furthermore, a critical mass of physicians and psychologists have proclaimed that video game addiction (along with TV, internet, cell phone use, etc.) is quite real and can be one of many reasons why some children struggle academically. In addition, it is safe to say that video game addiction is one of the key reasons that boys in some areas and demographics are struggling in school more than students of the opposite sex (although this study explains that these statistics can be a bit misleading).

To understand video game addiction is to understand addiction in general. Most of the time we associate addiction with substances, especially drugs such as cocaine but doctors recognize addictive behaviors as well. Psychologists have set forth the following general criteria for addiction:

1. The person needs more and more of a substance or behavior to keep him going.
2. If the person does not get more of the substance or behavior, he becomes irritable and miserable.

Pediatricians say compulsive gaming meets these criteria, and physicians have seen severe withdrawal symptoms in game addicts. They can become irritable or angry, violent, or depressed. If [parents] take away the video game(s), the child may sit in the corner and cry, refuse to eat, sleep, or do anything in an effort to get his fix.

In February of last year the prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal Pediatrics published the results of a long term study entitled "Pathological Video Game Use Among Youths: A Two-Year Longitudinal Study" in which they essentially found that some of the outcomes of video game addiction include "depression, anxiety, social phobias, and lower school performance seemed to act as outcomes of pathological gaming." Of course the operative word his is pathological gaming. So, to be clear, "my kid plays a lot of video games" doesn't necessarily amount to "pathological gaming." 


The point I am trying to make is that the amount of time children spend gaming should be limited. Even "a lot" can have negative consequences. "A lot," by the way, is probably one to two hours a day for a child under 18. The reality is, however, that many children spend four or more hours per day in front of a screen. This, on occassion, has happened in my own home, so I am not above reproach (although lest I be smitten down by my wife, this would be a very rare occassion). Of course summer time and holidays may make the two hour limit harder to keep and if this limit has become hard for you to enact, it's probably time to sit down and talk about time management with your child or, even better, as a family (and when I say family, I understand that might mean a single parent and children, a grandparent and children, etc.).


When children are playing electronic games for hours and hours they, by definition, cannot be reading a book, running across the field, having a meaningful conversation with a loved one or friend, drawing or painting a picture, or playing a musical instrument. Children need a variety of activities to stimulate the development of their brains and social skills.

Some tips for parents:

1. Use a timer. Whether you're using a kitchen timer or the built-on timer on the Xbox360 that requires a pass-code once the designated time has expired (that's what we use for our eldest son), make children, and yourself, accountable for the amount of screen time. It's amazing how fast 30 minutes can goes by! Sometimes after 30 minutes we allot more time, but often we say "Nope, it's time for you to do something else such as (and then we give choices)."
2. Be sure you foster a variety of activities in addition to homework or screen time. If the only choice is homework and the screen (whether it be video games, TV, computer, phone) then you're not going to have much success. Other choices: art (pad and pencil is all it takes, especially if you start young), reading, music, sports, taking a walk, crafts, cooking, creative toys such as Legos, etc.)
3. Find games that have "redeeming value." Whether it be educational games on the computer, games that require critical thinking and problem solving (games from the "Legend of Zelda" franchise come to mind as an example) or games your child can play collaboratively with siblings, friends or you (yes you!), look for games that are not going to cause your kid's brain to turn to a chaotic mush pot. First person shooters such as Call of Duty that require gamers to repetitively seek and destroy other players or AI bots (computer controlled "bad guys") not only do very little to develop your child's brain, they can actually rewire the brain for violence and other destructive behaviors. Besides, those game are rated MATURE for a reason and that reason is that science shows that mature themes have a detrimental effect on childhood development. Very few kids grow addicted to violent games with explicit imagery and language without it affecting them on some level.
4. Don't blame the electronics. If you see a pattern of addiction has developed or is beginning to materialize, "don't vilify the screen." This may only cause greater anguish. Seek to strike a balance in which games are part of a healthy palette of activities. Children are smart and they know that games are a part of this brave new world in which we live. 

If you've read this far then you are likely a parent who really wants to do what's best for your kid(s) regarding this issue. I applaud you for seeking information about this because, as you can read down below, this topic is not going away. Indeed, as technology grows ever more advanced we may very well see a day when people disappear into virtual worlds and drop out of the "real world" nearly all together. Let us consider ourselves warned.

Want to hear some advice about kids and games from "real gamers?" Here is some more great advice from a video gaming blog (KOTAKU).

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Your Smart Kids "Bonus Section"

Technology experts and futurists (really nerdy guys who like to make predictions about the future...like me) all agree regarding one staggering idea: in the next 15 years we will experience as much technological advancement as has ocurred in the last century! In other words, the world is about to change right before our eyes! Yes, those two sentences deserved exclamation points.

Of course we like to envision flying cars, crystalline cities and space tourism, but the fact of the matter is that technological advancement like everything else has its ups and downs. As you can see in this image above (by artist Eran "pyxelated" Cantrell), many envision a world in which some will be swept away by virtual realities from which they

won't, or can't, return.