Where do the children go?

RESEARCH by Australian researcher, Gary Morgan, reveals that Australian kids watched less TV in 2008 than in 2005, while internet use increased by 50%.

This is not surprising, considering how the multi-computer household has grown in that period, as computers have moved further and further into the realm of consumer electronic devices.

What is more surprising is that they are spending slightly more time in sport.

On average, kids spent 6.2 hours per week online in 2008 — more than two hours more they did in 2005. The study involved over 20 000 Australians aged between 6 and 14.

Norman Morris, of Roy Morgan Research says, “While much has been made of the fact that children today are less active and more TV focussed than they used to be, research proves that this is not the case. Kids are spending similar amounts of time using media and engaging in sport as they used to, but the activities and the media have changed.”

Perhaps because we feel responsible for kids, we often look critically at what they do, but we often react emotionally rather than on the basis of fact, and it is easy to be critical of perceived failings rather than appreciative of their achievements. Yet, when we see how passionate they can be about the environment, how pro-active socially, and how much they achieve in things like the Schools Spectacular, we can see how much there really is to appreciate.

Jesus' disciples tried to block children from coming to him; he rebuked them and encouraged a positive interaction between himself and the young. He was scathingly critical of those who might cause a child to stumble.

This report reminds us that kids are, by and large, not under-achieving obese slobs who do nothing but play video games in darkened rooms.

But this doesn't mean we should be complacent, either. There are fewer places for children to go to to climb a tree, play on a swing or just walk. Parents have less time for their children in their busy and economic-necessity-driven lives. Stranger danger is a far more pervasive fear than it once was.

The children are obviously willing; are we enabling them to make the most of their willingness?

Jesus was scathingly critical of those who might cause a child to stumble...