“Are you happy?” is the most important question that every parent needs to ask their children. Do you remember the last time when you asked this question to your child?
Happiness of a child is not often associated with toys, chocolates and games and the real joy is often vested with the beloved bonding that they hold with their parents, especially when engaged in any innovative form of preschool activities at home.
The mystery uncover when parents fail to ask or answer this momentous question vested with the ‘REAL’ happiness of their children.
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What is the Reason Behind this Generic Generation GAP?
Trending from a decade’s time, parents of this 21st century consider the introduction of devices to their little ones as a vital part of the digital era and permit the rupture of the emotional bonding between them and their children unknowingly.
The ‘DEVICE’ Syndrome:
While thousands of reasons might flood to stand behind this careless condition, the most prominent among them is the “DEVICE SYNDROME.”
Yes! The heartbreaking truth is that the gadgets and the technology consigned in it have taken a great toll on the physical, psychological, social and emotional health of our children, causing irreparable damage.
Where does this destruction start from? Is it during the Primary, Secondary or Junior college level?
Nope! This devastation starts right from the early years when our newborns progress towards toddlerhood. When that being said, “What do these technological devices do to our little ones?” might be the significant question striking our minds.
The countless benefits of Gadgets should certainly be embraced but ‘WHEN’ is the crucial query that needs to be answered.
A definite ‘NO’ is the answer especially in the EYFS (Early Years Foundation Stage) because human brain development progresses up to 92% in this stage and remains as the nucleus for the rest of human life.
Alarming effects of Gadgets on young Children:
Gadgets like mobile phones, tablets and laptops have become the primary source of learning and having fun.
Numerous studies on the negative impact of devices on young children leave us dumbstruck and in absolute pain. The major among them are:
1. Physical Stagnation:
Toddlers and children in the early years are meant to learn the natural way on par with nature.
Continued exposure to devices causes extreme damage to the eyesight. Excessive contraction of muscles in the eyes leads to pseudo-myopia.
This is the major reason behind eye defects and use of spectacles in children at a very early age, especially within 7-8 years. More time spent on gadgets means less physical activity involved and more strain on neck and back, leading to musculoskeletal problems. This is an alarming sign for deferred physical development and increased risk of obesity in children.
Numerous studies including the report by The American Academy of Pediatrics states that increased screen time leads to irregular eating habits, more snacking and less physical activity leading to chronic disorders like obesity, diabetes and other underlying issues.
2. Social and Behavioral Risks:
Excessive exposure to devices ends up in various behavioral problems in children like aggressive actions, violent behaviors, throwing tantrums, disobedience and addiction to the gadgets.
“It hinders interaction and disrupts the normal communication skill development of children. Toddlers often fail to improve on their communication with their parents since they surround themselves with inanimate objects and fail when socializing with other people,” states Dr. Gary Small on “iBrain: Surviving the Technological Alteration of the Modern Mind,” in The New York Times write-up.
3. Emotional Challenges:
“The preschool years represent a time of expansive psychological growth, with the initial expression of many psychological abilities that will continue to be refined into young adulthood,” witnesses a PubMed study on ‘Brain development during the preschool years.”
The use of devices in the early years have been proven detrimental to the emotional development of children. Few among them are:
- Lack of creativity
- Poor quality of sleep
- Delayed language development
- Reduced emotional bonding
- Increased anxiety
The damage caused by our expensive iPhones and tablets on our priceless children cannot be reimbursed.
What is The Need of The Hour?
The impulsive solution to this burning problem is an emotionally nurturing device-free learning methodology.
Rightly named as ‘Vaekke’, meaning ‘To awaken’, this excellent initiative by St. Mark’s Education Group’s Centre of Excellence for Teaching and Education is the ground-breaking EQ centric preschool program.
Striving for the past 25 years to nourish young minds, while strengthening the emotional bonding between the parent and the child is what team ‘Vaekke’ breathes.
This gadget-free learning approach believes in this quote of Mahatma Gandhi, which states that “There is no school equal to a decent home and there is no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.”
The key reasons why parents need Vaekke’s Device-Free, EQ Centric Preschool Learning Program for their Children are:
1. Educational Empowerment Program:
Vaekke believes that every child is unique, where many leading educational institutions consider children as race horses running in the field to score nothing more than just marks.
2. Encouraging the Ability to Think and act:
When bookworms and night owls are being created with regular schools and mobile devices, Vaekke’s well-designed EQ centric learning focuses on stimulating the innate ability to think rightly and proactively.
3. To Strengthen the Emotional Bonding Between the Parent and the Child:
This is the vital part of every learning process involved mainly in the Early Years Foundation Stage because numerous psychological studies witness that kids who experience the emotional attachment of a parent showcases strength and self-esteem.
Whereas a troubled parent-toddler relationship makes the child feel insecure, disorganized and inferior. Addiction to devices and lack of human interaction impairs the level of confidence in the child, leading to behavioral disorders.
This is the fundamental ideology behind Vaekke’s parent – child kinesthetic focused approach. During which the child loves to learn and explore whereas the parent loves to see their child rejoice and reform the overall personality.
4. To Kindle the Natural Creativity and Cognitive Skills:
The child-friendly learning style employed by Vaekke aims at nurturing the creative skills and cognitive development in kids.
Children learn through observing, listening, talking, touching, tasting, investigating, playing, exploring and experimenting.
This means that young children need to have opportunities to indulge and learn through real-time experience.
“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me, and I may not remember. Involve me, and I’ll understand,” depicts a Native American proverb vividly.
5. To Ensure that Kids Grow as Problem-Solvers:
The world needs ‘problem-solvers’ rather than ‘copy-cats.’
The holistic curriculum adopted by Vaekke follows the Montessori pattern, Froebel theory and the Real-world approach.
Imagine the enthusiasm of learning:
- Math with fruits and pulses,
- Colors with vegetables,
- Languages with free-hand painting,
- Creativity with play dough,
- Science with fun and funnels,
- Behavioral patterns with balloons, and
- Manners in mindful learning with the parent!
It sounds as awesome as it is!
These practical tactics aid in nourishing the problem-solving ability by strengthening the sensory faculties, fine motor skills, Math potential, language ability, cognitive capability, social and emotional attributes and the creativity quotient.
Vaekke is a gadget-free preschool program that directs the parents through its amusing daily activity sheet that brings infinite bliss and enjoyment to the parent and the child.
If you are the Parent of an inspired preschooler between 2 to 4.5 years of age, choose Vaekke, your revolutionary preschool companion to foster ‘Little Stars’ in your home.