Technology
the enemy of keeping up kids' fitness
This material has been produced by the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ)
under contract to the Ministry of Education. It has been written to assist teachers
and schools in their delivery of the technology/ hangarau curriculum statements.
The project is jointly coordinated by personnel from the Technology Education
New Zealand (TENZ)
and National Association of Māori Mathematicians, Scientists and Technologists
(NAMMSAT) networks. Monitoring and evaluation of the material is carried out
by a national project advisory group.
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News
In a September 2001 article in the New Zealand Herald,
Rebecca Walsh addressed the issue of the need for parents to ensure
that their children strike a happy balance between computer or TV time
and other activities such as sport, reading, homework, music practice,
and playing with friends.
A recent Lincoln University study highlighted an emerging
problem in ensuring this balance. In looking at the physical fitness
of 10-to-14-year-old children from 1991 to 2000, it found that boys
increased in weight by 2.9kg and girls by 2.1kg. The time taken to complete
a 550m run increased by almost 24 seconds in boys and 27 seconds in
girls.
Research has shown that contributing factors to the problem
include:
The article pointed to other recent research data which shows that:
- New Zealand children watch an average of 2 hours and 11 minutes of
television a day;
- nearly one-third play a computer game or video game daily;
- over 30 percent have a television in their bedroom;
- about 40 percent have access to the Internet.
It appears that as the number of families where both parents work increases,
television and computers are being used more often as babysitters.
Jenny Ritchie, an early childhood lecturer at Waikato University is quoted
as saying:
These days for children living in urban situations, it may not be safe
to go down to the playground. Parents may prefer to know that their children
are safe at home doing some supposedly "educational" computer games than
they are out in the playground unsupervised.
Parents are expected to do the "right thing educationally" by having
a computer in the home but many are unaware that a lot of software children
use has limited educational content.
The Children's Television Foundation, an advocacy group for children's
rights, says that although most parents believe that children watch too
much television, many do nothing to help change the habit.
Ideas for classroom use
The article addresses a problem which many parents have in trying to
ensure that their children maintain a healthy balance in their range of
activities. It particularly points to a growing imbalance in the amount
of television and computer usage and to the need for parents to effectively
monitor and plan this usage. It seems that taking steps to constantly
monitor children's viewing and computer use and to manage this use requires
just too much time and energy.
There appears to be an opportunity to design a system which will allow
concerned parents to monitor and plan how their children spend their time.
- What range of data will be required to be collected?
- How can it be collected in a way which suits those involved?
- How can it be presented in an effective manner?
- How will the effectiveness of the system be evaluated?
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