Overview
Learn how you can manage balance between activities your children need for growth and success, with technology use. Children use on average 7.5 hours per day of entertainment technologies. TV, video games, internet, movies, cell phones and a variety of hand held devices now occupy the majority of our child’s waking hours – but to what detriment? Developmental delay, obesity, sleep deprivation, mental illness, aggression, social isolation, poor communication, attention deficit and learning disorders have all been associated with technology overuse. The effect of chronic states of high cortisol in a sedentary body, as well as the effect of prolonged use of electromagnetic radiation, are only beginning to receive research attention, but could prove to have permanent life threatening consequences to child health. Schools are creating Virtual Classrooms, and homes are creating Virtual Families, further alienating children from essential human connection and attachment that is the basis for all learning. Children are our future, yet choices made today raise the question: are the ways in which we are raising and educating our children with technology, no longer sustainable?
Goal
Disconnect to Reconnect raises public awareness regarding the damaging impact of technology on child development and academic performance, and provides initiatives for homes, schools, health professionals, governments, researchers, and technology production corporations to create ’sustainable’ children.
Learning Outcomes
Handouts
Technology Screen and Schedule
Ten Steps to disconnect your children from technology
Unplug’in Parent Brochure
Who should attend?
Parents, teachers, administrators, special education staff, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, counsellors, physicians, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers and child care providers. Foundation Series Workshops are designed to be introductory level for therapists, intermediate for teachers and advanced for parents, child care workers and teaching assistants.
Register for scheduled Foundation Series Workshops:
Sponsor a workshop in your own community and receive a free Zone’in, Move’in or Unplug’in program for school or home use. Contact Cris for the details!
Evidence based – Research referenced – Strategy focused