Are We Inadvertently Crippling Our Children?
Parents the world over have two fundamental, basic instincts when it comes to their children: 1.
They will do absolutely everything in their power to protect them from harm, and 2.
Parents will try and prepare their children for the big wide world by teaching them life skills, and helping in their general education.
Sadly, it is possible that in today's computer based world, trying to help our children in their education process might actually be harming them in the longer term -- and we just don't know it.
In explanation: How many parents, grandparents, uncles/aunties, have sat down with pre-school kids and worked through books on animal noises? For example, what animal makes a meow sound? And have the child point to the cat.
Rings a bell? Plenty have done similar I am sure.
Now, how many have put the pre-schooler in front of a computer and had the early learning software do much the same thing? And because the screen can be animated and make really great praising noises when the answer is correct (and of course funny noises when the answer is wrong) the kids love them.
And there is some fantastic early learning software around.
Because young children cannot recognize letters, spell, or type, they are left with only the one input device -- the mouse.
And herein lies the problem.
The computer mouse can be a cause of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).
A simple internet search will result in many thousands of pages on this subject.
Suffice to say that RSI develops over time.
It is not something you catch, but rather a condition that develops through doing the same action over and over again, that is as the name suggests -- repetitive.
As examples, it is not uncommon for builders, hair dressers, or dog-groomers to develop the condition.
They grip and hold the tools of their trade the same way, and use these tools in a similar manner over and over again for a period of many years.
Case in point is a builder friend of mine.
He started his apprenticeship at 17 and simply loved being 'on the tools' for years.
At 38, he developed the condition and had pain in his wrists and arms every time he picked up a hammer.
In this example it took 21 years for the condition to develop.
Using a traditional, 'downward pressure mouse' to move the cursor around the screen and then 'point & click', over and over again is the same thing and can result in an equally debilitating condition.
In fact there are health and bio-mechanic industry figures that indicate over the course of an 8 hour day using a computer in an average office based job, the combined pressure of mouse clicking could be as much as 3 tons.
That is 3 tons of pressure moving from the fingers through the wrist, forearm and up to the shoulder.
And that is taking no account of any home use for internet browsing or online gaming -- where the mouse is more commonly the primary device used.
So -- what about our children who are starting to point and click from as young as 2 and 3? What could happen to them over 20 years? The way learning is moving, they are more than likely going to use (or even have used!) computers all through their school years and beyond.
How drastic it would be if by 25 or 30 they had developed similar painful conditions.
One of the most telling signs for me was after watching my 3 year old son.
He was playing on an early learning software program.
He was kneeling upright on the chair, leaning forward on the desk so that he could manipulate the mouse.
It looked uncomfortable and ungainly.
Without giving any instruction, I gave him a new mouse prototype and said to have a go with it -- and the change was absolutely amazing! He immediately sat back in the chair, rested his arm in his lap, and continued to play.
While we all would love to be there for our children throughout their lives and protect them from pain and hurt, there are some things they need to experience in the school of hard knocks.
However, it is a far different thing to knowingly put them in harms way.
Now that more and more information on RSI and computer mouse use is available -- we should be doing everything we can to protect them.
They will do absolutely everything in their power to protect them from harm, and 2.
Parents will try and prepare their children for the big wide world by teaching them life skills, and helping in their general education.
Sadly, it is possible that in today's computer based world, trying to help our children in their education process might actually be harming them in the longer term -- and we just don't know it.
In explanation: How many parents, grandparents, uncles/aunties, have sat down with pre-school kids and worked through books on animal noises? For example, what animal makes a meow sound? And have the child point to the cat.
Rings a bell? Plenty have done similar I am sure.
Now, how many have put the pre-schooler in front of a computer and had the early learning software do much the same thing? And because the screen can be animated and make really great praising noises when the answer is correct (and of course funny noises when the answer is wrong) the kids love them.
And there is some fantastic early learning software around.
Because young children cannot recognize letters, spell, or type, they are left with only the one input device -- the mouse.
And herein lies the problem.
The computer mouse can be a cause of RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury).
A simple internet search will result in many thousands of pages on this subject.
Suffice to say that RSI develops over time.
It is not something you catch, but rather a condition that develops through doing the same action over and over again, that is as the name suggests -- repetitive.
As examples, it is not uncommon for builders, hair dressers, or dog-groomers to develop the condition.
They grip and hold the tools of their trade the same way, and use these tools in a similar manner over and over again for a period of many years.
Case in point is a builder friend of mine.
He started his apprenticeship at 17 and simply loved being 'on the tools' for years.
At 38, he developed the condition and had pain in his wrists and arms every time he picked up a hammer.
In this example it took 21 years for the condition to develop.
Using a traditional, 'downward pressure mouse' to move the cursor around the screen and then 'point & click', over and over again is the same thing and can result in an equally debilitating condition.
In fact there are health and bio-mechanic industry figures that indicate over the course of an 8 hour day using a computer in an average office based job, the combined pressure of mouse clicking could be as much as 3 tons.
That is 3 tons of pressure moving from the fingers through the wrist, forearm and up to the shoulder.
And that is taking no account of any home use for internet browsing or online gaming -- where the mouse is more commonly the primary device used.
So -- what about our children who are starting to point and click from as young as 2 and 3? What could happen to them over 20 years? The way learning is moving, they are more than likely going to use (or even have used!) computers all through their school years and beyond.
How drastic it would be if by 25 or 30 they had developed similar painful conditions.
One of the most telling signs for me was after watching my 3 year old son.
He was playing on an early learning software program.
He was kneeling upright on the chair, leaning forward on the desk so that he could manipulate the mouse.
It looked uncomfortable and ungainly.
Without giving any instruction, I gave him a new mouse prototype and said to have a go with it -- and the change was absolutely amazing! He immediately sat back in the chair, rested his arm in his lap, and continued to play.
While we all would love to be there for our children throughout their lives and protect them from pain and hurt, there are some things they need to experience in the school of hard knocks.
However, it is a far different thing to knowingly put them in harms way.
Now that more and more information on RSI and computer mouse use is available -- we should be doing everything we can to protect them.
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