The Simple Life
Summer is here and it’s hotter than blazes outside. The outlook for the rest of the week here in Phoenix, AZ is a high of 105 to 108 degrees.
When I was a child growing up here, I don’t ever remember it being that hot outside. But then again, I spent a lot of time indoors during the summer. I remember playing with Barbie, cooking with my Easy Bake Oven, playing dress-up and all the things that girls liked to do back then. When it wasn’t too hot outside, I was riding my bike or skateboard, or playing softball in the street, hide-and-seek or hop-scotch with my friends. Life’s simple pleasures…the simple life.
Regardless of where you live, children like to play. Whether indoors or outdoors, it’s an essential part of children’s development. It encourages creativity, problem-solving and socialization skills.
So what do kids like to do these days during summer vacation when they don’t want to go outside and play? My guess is they like to play with their Nitendo, Xbox, PlayStation and Wii, right? Whatever happened to the days of Barbie, GI Joe and model airplanes? The answer is technology!
As adults, we can’t live without our modern devices. Imagine if we went back in time just 15 to 20 years ago when cell phones were a novelty. We did just fine without them – we used maps for directions, mailed letters to our friends, and used a pay phone (or walked) when we needed help on the side of the road.
Now, technology is a necessity. As you walk through the airports, drive down the street, or shop in the grocery store, everyone’s talking to someone on their cell phone.
Over the last 50 years, we have moved away from the simple life to hard-core technology – text messaging, social networking, and blogging (yes…here I am). We rely on our phones and computers to get us around and do everything for us. We don’t have to do anything for ourselves anymore because we have computers to do it for us.
Our cars come equipped with GPS navigation systems to tell us where to go, backup cameras so we don’t run over anyone backing out of the driveway, sensors to help us parallel park, and DVD players to keep the kids entertained in the back seat.
We have become very dependent on our technology, and very lazy. Many believe it’s faster to send text messages back and forth than it is to pick up the phone and have a conversation. It’s a change in our social conditions that encourages and requires this type of behavior in order for us to keep up with modern day life. Simplicity is gone and technology has taken over…or has it?
So, I ask you this…can you bring back some of the simple life? I’m not talking about giving up your cell phone, computer or custom features on your vehicles. I’m talking about engaging your children or grandchildren in creative, imaginative play during the summer where they are not sitting in front of the TV watching cartoons or playing video games?
Research conducted at the Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle, Washington found that there is a correlation between television and video games and the influx of attention deficit [hyperactivity] disorders in children. The short flashes of information they receive programs their brains to think and act like television – jumping from one thing to another in short segments.
My challenge to you is to bring back some simplicity in your life with your children, grandchildren, nieces and nephews. Sit down and put together a jigsaw puzzle, play hide-and-go-seek, have fun with a science project or read a book together. I think we have all gotten away from the simple pleasures of life, but it’s not too late to get them back. Teach your children and grandchildren the importance of creativity and imagination. Pretend! Pretend that you live on a prairie in 1875 when there were no TVs or video games. Give them a taste of history and an opportunity to exercise their creative minds and spirits. Reduce some of the stress of modern day living and enjoy a taste of the simple life!
