Should we worry that American children are growing less creative? - The Washington Post

Should we worry that American children are growing less creative? - The Washington Post

Should we worry that American children are becoming less creative?

In 2012, early child education expert Nancy Carlsson-Paige wrote the following on this blog:

We have many decades of theory and research in child development that tell us so much about how young children learn. We know that, like children all over the world and throughout time, children need to play. We know that learning in the early years is active — that kids learn through direct play and hands-on experiences with people, with materials, and in nature.

Kids need first-hand engagement — they need to manipulate objects physically, engage all their senses, and move and interact with the 3-dimensional world. This is what maximizes their learning and brain development. A lot of the time children spend with screens takes time away from the activities we know they need for optimal growth. We know that children today are playing less than kids played in the past.

Seven years later, the problem is at least as acute, and that’s what Erika Christakis looks at in this post.

Christakis is an early childhood educator and author of the New York Times best-selling book, “The Importance of Being Little: What Young Children Really Need From Grown-ups.” A former preschool director and faculty member of the Yale Child Study Center, she holds teaching licensure (K-2nd grade) in Massachusetts and Vermont and serves on the national advisory board of Defending the Early Years (DEY), a nonprofit organization working to provide quality education to all young children. Her writing has been featured in The Washington Post, the Atlantic, Salon, and TIME.com, among other media.

How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become — from a child development expert

By Erika Christakis

My newly adopted 9-year-old son is a Minecraft aficionado; however, unlike most of the millions of CONTINUE READING: Should we worry that American children are growing less creative? - The Washington Post