RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

Look into the lives of today's kids and you'll see interesting facts that are a reflection of their native culture.

1. Hybrid automobiles have always been mass produced.

2. They have never licked a postage stamp.

3. Email is “formal” communication, while texts and tweets are "casual" communication.

4. They have grown up treating Wi-Fi as an entitlement.

5. The announcement of someone being the “first woman” to hold a position has only impressed their parents.

6. Cell phones have become so ubiquitous in class that teachers don’t know which students are using them to take notes and which ones are planning a party.

7. Their parents have gone from encouraging them to use the Internet to begging them to get off it.
 
8. If you say “around the turn of the century,” they may well ask you, “which one?”

9. They have avidly joined Harry Potter as they built their reading skills through all seven volumes.

10. The therapeutic use of marijuana has always been legal in a growing number of American states.

11. The eyes of Texas have never looked upon The Houston Oilers.

12. Teachers have always had to insist that term papers employ sources in addition to those found online.

13. Playhouse Disney was a place where they could play growing up.

14. Surgeons have always used “super glue” in the operating room.

15. The Lion King has always been on Broadway.

16. First Responders have always been heroes.

17. CNN has always been available en Español.

18. TV has always been in such high definition that they could see the pores of actors and the grimaces of quarterbacks.

19. Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith have always been Men in Black, not their next-door neighbors.

20. Amoco gas stations have steadily vanished from the American highway.

This list came from Beloit College.

The age kids have a cell phone is getting younger.  But should kids have cell phones?  Weigh both sides of the debate. 

THE NO ARGUMENT...

1. Rapid brain growth
Between 0 and 2 years, infant's brains triple in size, and continue in a state of rapid development to 21 years of age.  Early brain development is determined by environmental stimuli, or lack thereof.

Stimulation to a developing brain caused by overexposure to technologies (cell phones, internet, iPads, TV), has been shown to be associated with executive functioning and attention deficit, cognitive delays, impaired learning, increased impulsivity and decreased ability to self-regulate, e.g. tantrums.

2. Delayed Development
Technology use restricts movement, which can result in delayed development.  One in three children now enter school developmentally delayed, negatively impacting literacy and academic achievement.

Use of technology under the age of 12 years is detrimental to child development and learning.

3. Epidemic Obesity
TV and video game use correlates with increased obesity.  Children who are allowed a device in their bedrooms have 30% increased incidence of obesity.

4. Sleep Deprivation
60% of parents do not supervise their child's technology usage, and 75% of children are allowed technology in their bedrooms.  75% of children aged 9 and 10 years are sleep deprived to the extent that their grades are detrimentally impacted.

5. Mental Illness
Technology overuse is implicated as a causal factor in rising rates of child depression, anxiety, attachment disorder, attention deficit, autism, bipolar disorder, psychosis and problematic child behavior.

6. Digital dementia
High speed media content can contribute to attention deficit, as well as decreased concentration and memory, due to the brain pruning neuronal tracks to the frontal cortex.

7. Addictions
As parents attach more and more to technology, they are detaching from their children.  In the absence of parental attachment, detached children can attach to devices, which can result in addiction.  1 in 11 children aged 8-18 years are addicted to technology.

8. Radiation emission
In May of 2011, the World Health Organization classified cell phones (and other wireless devices) as a category 2B risk.

THE YES ARGUMENT...

1. Problem solving.
It gives kids access to resources that help them solve problems.

2. Technology skills.
When people don't have access to technology until their later years, they fall behind.  America is already falling behind in technology skills, making us less employable and harder to train.

3. Expectations in school.
Classrooms of the 21st century engage students in a variety of ways bridging technology and interactive teaching.

4. Interest.
Many children are motivated by technology.  They are future coders.  Future designers.  Future engineers.

5. Brain development.
There is a positive link between technology and brain development

6. Literacy.
Handheld devices can help with learning, especially when parents are involved with the interaction of the device.

Which side of the debate do you fall on?  Share your thoughts with everyone in the comment section below.

1. Renting a VHS tape and getting ticked off because the previous person didn't rewind it.
2. That video games can be fixed by just blowing into them.
3. The frustration of driving to Blockbuster to rent the movie you want to see and finding out all the copies are rented out.
4. That cell phones are the size of bricks.
5. Not being able to walk around while you are on the phone because you are tied down by a cord.
6. Having to look in a book to find out the answer to a question.
7. Having to use a TV Guide to know what's on TV.
8. Having to use a paper map to find a location.
9. How to memorize a phone number.
10. That having a pager makes you feel important.
11. How awful it was when someone taped over a show you had recorded on your VHS tape.
12. That cereal isn't cereal if it doesn't have a prize at the bottom.
13. An annoying squealing sound when you connect to the internet.
14. How to use a World Book Encyclopedia.
15. Having a watch that is also a calculator.
16. Having to wait for your favorite song to come on the radio.
17. Saving information on a floppy disk.
18. Using a phone booth.
19. Getting up to change the TV station.
20. Fixing a cassette tape with a pencil.

What else do they not know about?  Add to the fun by sharing below.