We live in a digital world, and to fight against it seems foolish. In the last twenty years the world has changed remarkably, and the pace of change is accelerating.

 

It is important, however, to take a reality check every now and then and reflect on how grounded our children are in ‘the real world’.

Digital progress provides many benefits to adults and children, but there is a danger that many of the skills and pleasures that generations of children have enjoyed are lost to our children today. Most crucially, people fear that cultural traditions and certainties are rapidly disappearing. To this end, I have put together a very quick list of some of the things that you can do with your children to help them to be grounded in the real world.

Some of these are in the form of challenging questions.

 

1             When was the last time you or your child ate something that had been grown at home?

An early disconnection for children is a failure of understanding of where food comes from and how it arrives on their plates.

Take time to plant seeds with your child, watch them grow, cook with the results. You don’t need much space for this – it can be as small as a window-box. Tomatoes are a great one to start with, as are peppers.

 

2             Does your child know how the post system works?

Has he or she ever written a letter or a postcard? What are stamps used for? How do you write an address to make sure it gets to the right place? What is your home address?

A postcard is always gratefully received by distant relatives and this kind of communication, that is slow and more considered, is important to get children thinking about the messages that they would like to send might be.

 

3             Could you last out a ‘digital sabbath’?

A digital ‘sabbath’ is a whole day without phones, tablets or other devices connected to the internet. Children are compelled to find other activities to fill their time.

This is also a very useful activity for parents. Obviously, there will be exceptions, for example if you are responsible for a relative who is unwell and you need to be in contact.

However, some time away from the digital world helps to illustrate how it pulls us into it in so many ways. Online providers have a range of tricks to do this.

 

4             Where is your library?

Children can derive great pleasure from handling and reading physical books. Even if you do not have books in your home, it is worthwhile being a frequent visitor to the library. Do you know where it is? Does your child know how to use a library?

 

5             Collect something that you cannot buy in shops

This speaks for itself. Conkers, old coins, feathers, pressed flowers, used stamps.

 

6             Can your child play Chess?

Consider Chess a life skill. If your child learns the rules, it is something that he or she will carry them forever. Chess and strategy games promote areas of the brain that are unstimulated by conventional media.

 

7             Learn a place on foot

As children, we learn the physical reality of a place on foot. Travelling by car and plane, although necessary, disrupts this sense of scale. If you have to make a short journey, and you have the time to do so, make it on foot. If you do this frequently your child will have a better sense of distance and space.

 

8             Climb to the top

Children develop lasting memories through achievements that involve scale. If you climb to the top of a large hill, or the spire of a church, or to the top of a castle tower with your child, it will reshape how he or she understands the world.

 

Many of these suggestions seek to develop different intelligences for your child. Intelligence is not just mathematical ability or language skill or recall of facts. It also involves empathy, spatial / kinaesthetic skill, environmental consciousness, the ability to connect and reflect.