School: Childhood Essay

Submitted By aimeeefontes22
Words: 1485
Pages: 6

Marlen Fontes
ENG 212
Argumentative Essay
Where is today’s childhood? Thinking back to when I was just a child I remember having fun outside. Form making mud pies to catching butterflies, the memories that I have of my childhood are great. In today’s world some children can think of is getting the newest game for their game system. While other children are struggling to just maintain to stay alive. The concept that our childhood should be a time to make wonderful memories can also be a time that kids are getting stripped of their innocence. The time that was made to have fun and not have a worry in the world has caused the loss of a child’s innocent childhood. We don’t hear much about how much a child’s innocent time period has changed over the last years. When technology became an immense, it seems as if the evolutions of our childhood change along with it. Technology has played a role in the lives of children and the way that the look at the world. “Gadgets inhibit their imagination and make them play less”¹ this article is suggesting that the technology and the gadgets that we allow children to play with is affecting the way that they play. Not only is that it also affecting the way that they play but also the way they think and the way that they use their imagination. Some of the more common technologies that kids are exposed to are iPads/iPods, smart phones, computers, Nintendo ds, and any other gaming systems. While we only look at the aspects of technology there are also the new toys that we allow children to play with as well. Every day the next big thing in toys comes out. When your little one looks up at you with those puppy dog eyes and begs you to buy that new toy for them. As they get that toy they begged for, we can’t see past the fact that the toy is affecting them in many ways. “Having to many toys can affect the child’s attention span and leave them giving up on an item quickly”² showing that children are more prone to put less effort in the things that they do. Allowing them to lack the knowledge that they need such as how to read, write, or even how to communicate with other children. When children get these new toys they don’t get the chance to explore their imagination. The child has all the fun part of making up a character or a place for their story. With today’s toys their creativity is taken away and they don’t get to express their true selves. The new generation of toys has affected the way that a child plays. In the older time a child would play outside get exercise and fresh air. Now they spend hours in their rooms locked away from their true child hood. Kids also spend hours watching television long before they even start their school career. They watch shows that may not be appropriate for their age. Television is available at the reach of children and is able to watch shows that can teach them things that may inappropriate and not age appropriate. They could be watching shows on a network that show things a small child shouldn’t learn or know about till they are older. On television they are exposed to violence and sexual affections. Also the advertisement that are seen on the television are a form of that the innocence of a children are taken away. Television is a wide media to get advertisement out to the public. Children aren’t the only ones to blame in this matter. The parents also have the right to child proof there television so that the kid won’t be able to see the inappropriate thing on the television. “The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that kids under 2 years old not watch any TV and that those older than 2 watch no more than 1 to 2 hours a day of quality programming” allowing children to rot their brains away by watching things on the television that they shouldn’t be watching.
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4 Parents now that kids are more interested in playing video games and spend time with their new toy, parents try to find “activities” to get their kids away from this world