The End of Make Believe

1470 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Family importance

In a culture saturated in high tech toys that explode with dynamite sounds and whirling lights, children spend countless hours watching television and playing video games and less time engaging in creative and imaginative play. In Claudia Kalb’s article “The End of Make Believe,” she introduces the Knott family from Cleveland, Ohio. Kris Knott and her husband, parents of three active children, are striving to get back to the basics of play by increasing family time and decreasing their children’s television and video game usage. During the summer months, it would not be uncommon to find the entire family outside enjoying a pleasant evening together. Mrs. Knott states that “entertainment is not play” and children need carefree, less structured time to use their imaginations (Kalb, par.1). While the Knott’s children have plenty of organized activities such as after school sports, their parents recognize the importance of using imagination and creativity as a source of play (Kalb, par.1). In the same manner, parents must limit children’s time engaging in technology by creating quality family time and encouraging more creative and imaginative play for intellectual, emotional, and social skills to develop. In addition to television, today’s children are inundated with a wide variety of technological choices such as video games, Internet games, and other interactive activities. Despite these advanced technologies, television continues to play a large role in today’s society and while it began as an element to unite the family, it appears to be dividing the family apart now (Winn 437). While television provides us with hours of entertainment, stirs emotions deep inside, and is a tool for gathering information, most experts agree ... ... middle of paper ... ...roviding the “box” for more creative and imaginative play. In addition, parents must gather around the dinner table and create family traditions that will last forever in their children’s memories. Parents must emulate the Knott family who are creating memories by spending time together outdoors instead of watching television in separate rooms. As a result, these children develop intellectually, emotionally, and socially and contribute both to their family and community. Elyssa Knott, at the young age of 11 states, "How much fun could you possibly have if you didn't use your imagination?" (Kalb, par.1) As parents follow Kris Knott and her family’s example, they will see their own family beginning to change and acknowledge the importance of spending quality time together, letting go of the television remote and stepping back to the basics of play.

Show More
Related

  • The Nutri-Grain Bar In The 1990's

    1873 Words  | 4 Pages

    A voiceover asks the characters, “What are some of your most memorable experiences as kids?” A father-daughter duo is interviewed first. The daughter says, “My dad would always take me down to the creek and we’d look at the fish in the pond. As soon as I finished my homework.” Next, one woman who is with her sister responds, “My sisters and I would play hide and seek. Mom would always yell at us for drudging mud into the house afterwards.” These characters use a casual and friendly tone of voice that is familiar with the target audience. A parent telling a child to finish their homework before play, the drudging of mud into the house, spotting fish in the local creek—these images are all too familiar to the western audience and generation of parents. Their stories evoke a sense of longing and return to the past when many individuals are becoming increasingly uncertain aboutthe future. A stark contrast is presented with the child playing on the ipad. The relaxing background music abruptly stops as he candidly states, “I play on my ipad. I think I play games on it for three hours a day. Sometimes more.” The purpose of using a small child for a scene that portrays video games in a negative light (as opposed to an older individual) is due to the fact that a child’s concerns is rarely deemed “offensive” to others. Ultimately it’s the children that can provide

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Dana Boyd And Don T Limit Your Teen's Screen Time

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Get off your phone.” “I’m taking that laptop away.” Many children have dealt with their parents barging into their rooms and telling them to get off their electronics. Parents believe it is not healthy and therefore should be restricted. The two articles, “Blame Society, Not the Screen Time” by Dana Boyd and “Don’t Limit Your Teen’s Screen Time” by Chris Bergman, both talk about how parents should not limit their kid’s screen time. Both authors are writing to parents of children who they think spend way too much time on their electronics. However, Dana Boyd has a much better compelling argument for not restricting teenager’s screen time. Boyd has a much better appeal to both audiences. She manages to employ better uses of both pathos and logos

    Read More

  • Article Application: Television Harms Children by Ann Viorisek White

    606 Words  | 2 Pages

    White, A. V. (2006). Television Harms Children. Opposing Viewpoints. Television. San Diego: Greenhaven Press. (Reprinted from Mothering, 2001, 70)

    Read More

  • Is Bad Girls' Club Really that Bad?

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moody, Kate. Growing up on Television: the TV Effect: a Report to Parents. New York, NY: Times, 1980. Print.

    Read More

  • The Plug-In Drug by Marie Winn

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    Author also point out television undermines the family. Most parents are now relying on outside sources such...

    Read More

  • Television's Effect on Families as Expressed in Marie Winn's Article "The Trouble with Television"

    887 Words  | 2 Pages

    It may be hard to admit, but television has become an intricate part of our everyday lives. People children often find themselves sitting in front of the television screen for a longer period of time than before and this has evolved immensely over the past few years. In this article, “The Trouble with Television,” by the author Marie Winn, mentions that addiction of television is negative effects on children and families. It keeps the families from doing other things and it’s a hidden competitor for all other activities. Television takes place of play and on top of that kids who watch a lot of television grow uncivilized. Also, the author mentioned that televisions are less resourceful for children and have negative effects on children’s school achievement and on physical fitness. Although there are so many other types of addictions but the author Marie Winn’s points of argument of watching television is a serious addiction that our children and families have negative effects.

    Read More

  • Social Comparison Theory On Television

    1050 Words  | 3 Pages

    Television has become a big part in children’s day-to-day lives especially in the 20th century. Children in this century rely on television to keep them entertained and educated instead of entertaining and educating themselves by participating in activities, which will teach them a lot more in life then the actual television. There is no doubt that children are most easily influenced by television because of the different content that they watch as well as the amount of time consumed watching TV. The television does have an emotional and intellectual development on children but this all depends on the content that they’re watching and the way that they absorb the information that the show is trying to send out. Different programs will portray

    Read More

  • TV Families and Real Families

    3188 Words  | 7 Pages

    Morgan, M., Sinorielli, N., (1990) Television and the Family: The Cultivation Perspective (pp. 333-347) Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Inc.

    Read More

  • The Digital Parent Trap Summary

    490 Words  | 1 Pages

    In the article, “The Digital Parent Trap”, author Eliana Dockterman reveals the benefits of introducing technology to the youth. Dockterman’s purpose for this is to expose to parents that it is beneficial to expose technology to the early age. She utilizes a formal tone in order to effectively persuade her readers to believe in the pros more than the cons of screen time. Throughout the article, Dockterman successfully builds her argument by utilizing evidence, appealing to the emotions of her audience, and inductive reasoning.

    Read More

  • Unstructured Play Essay

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    A child's overall development can be mental, physical, and emotional. In the article “Give me that old time recess”, the author discussed the negative consequences of children losing playtime. “In a growing number of studies, diminished opportunities for outdoor playtime have been linked with school difficulties, increased childhood anxiety, disconnection from nature, attention deficit disorder, and the epidemic of childhood obesity” (Gross-Loh Par 4). This quote is important because children today are suffering more from obesity, and attention deficit disorders due to the decrease of structured play. Children are becoming less active due to the the dependency on technology. The increase in obesity is the result of the rise in children having smart phones. With children having smartphones, they lose the desire to play outside. The lack of play causes an increase in depression among children and teens. (Tanner Par 10). This is important because today’s generation has a large dependency on technology “Sixty-five percent of children under eight years old watch television daily. On average, they spend about an hour and a half (100 minutes to be exact) watching TV every day.” (Conrad Par 3). Childrens dependency on technology is related to depression because many children have a hard time communicating and socializing with other children due to technology ruining children's interpersonal skills (Bindley Par 4).

    Read More

  • An editorial that represents one side of an issue from a poem

    633 Words  | 2 Pages

    To begin, children do not play outside in today’s generation as a few years back which is an argument that could be pulled out of Walter Dean Myers’ “Summer,” because technology is a huge distraction. As this world progresses in immense technology, the kids grow up with that background and are used to a high tech life. Their lives revolve around computers, cellular devices, and television. Lines 7-8 in “Summer” read, “Birds peeping, old men sleeping.” Even though this might not relate that much to the topic, on the other hand it does as well. People should ...

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Play In Children's Play

    978 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to this argument, parents and children now heavily rely on technology for a main source of play, limiting the challenges of all creativity and imagination (Rowan 3). Although technology can provide some games and tools that can help children learn, it does not provide the same benefits as actual play and actually causes more harm than good. One of the main problems with play through technology is the fact that children are seeing a “symbolic representation of the real world” and are not receiving a direct experience of the real world with real people and materials (Rice 3). The more time children spend looking at a screen, the more they are isolating themselves and not spending time with other children and adults (Rice 3). This is not only damaging to the learning development of a child, but also the healthy development of forming relationships and social skills (Rice 3). According to a 2010 Kaiser Foundation study, children who are in elementary school use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technology and spending this much “screen time” is damaging to the development of children because their “sensory, motor, and attachment systems have biologically not evolved to accommodate this

    Read More

  • Children and Technology: Growing Up in the Modern World Can Have Negative Effects on Children

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Children growing up in today’s modern technological society are not as active as the children were before the invention of all the new new devices we have todaygadgets . Children growing up under the Amish and/or Mennonite cultures and beliefs are also more active than the children growing up in the modern society are. The bedroom used to be primarily the place to sleep. Today the bedroom has replaced the outdoors as the children’s play area. The bedrooms of today’s modern children are equipped with televisions, game consoles, computers, and miscellaneous electronic toys that entertain them for hours. Children are missing the experiences and values that the outdoors has to offer. “The digital bedroom culture is growing all the time at the expense of the outdoors,” the University of Kent’s Frank Furedi said. “Doing physically challenging outdoor activities teaches children how to deal with risk - and they learn about their own strengths and weaknesses.”(Par. 6 Clarke)

    Read More

  • The Negative Impact Of Technology On Children

    813 Words  | 2 Pages

    As disclosed in the article, The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child, Chris Rowan acknowledges, “Rather than hugging, playing, rough housing, and conversing with children, parents are increasingly resorting to providing their children with more TV, video games, and the latest iPads and cell phone devices, creating a deep and irreversible chasm between parent and child” (par. 7). In the parent’s perspective, technology has become a substitute for a babysitter and is becoming more convenient little by little. It is necessary for a growing child to have multiple hours of play and exposure to the outside world each day. However, the number of kids who would rather spend their days inside watching tv, playing video games, or texting is drastically increasing. Children are not necessarily the ones to be blamed for their lack of interest in the world around them, but their parents for allowing their sons and daughters to indulge in their relationship with technology so powerfully. Kids today consider technology a necessity to life, because their parents opted for an easier way to keep their children entertained. Thus resulting in the younger generations believing that technology is a stipulation rather than a

    Read More

  • Essay On Importance Of Play

    872 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Kindergarten school, some parent believes play is the best way for young children to learn the conceptions, skills, and set a solid foundation for later school and life success. In the other hand, many parents disagree and believe play is a waste of time, messy, noisy, and uneducationall. I believe play is not waste of time, but it something worth to fight for, in this presentation I would show parent the main importance of some of the numerous kinds of play, and why play is a fundamental basis for improving children’s ability to succeed in school and life.

    Read More

More about The End of Make Believe

Open Document