In reply to Timmd:
> Surely, that would depend on the world they're experiencing, how good or bad it is?
Exactly, but your comment was;
> There's definitely academic literature to back up what you say, about children living a world never before experienced - and it not being a good thing.
You didn't mention "good".
Today's kids will grow up in a world with unprecedented opportunity, healthcare, social care, education, and opportunity.
By the time I was 16 I'd been out of Wales, twice, on day trips. By the time she was 16, my daughter had been to the UK 3 times, Japan twice, Hong Kong, NZ, Dubai, Moscow, and other places.
The life expectancy for a baby born today is approaching 100
> Working in cotton mills was pretty shit for Victorian children.
Leaving school and entering an iron foundry at 15 was bad, but it set me up for the rest of my life.
> I'm not saying ' all children are doomed', but there are trends which can be seen developing among modern children, to do with mental health and physical capabilities/motor skills, which have their roots in what children do as children.
You should sprinkle the word "some" though that statement mate.
> Humans aren't any different to other animals, in learning and developing through play. I had to learn about it as part of my Forest Schools course, roughly grouped, physical play, rough and tumble play, group play and (measured) risky play all have particular benefits.
So did my daughter and her peers. In fact they had FAR more opportunity to do so than my generation did. Again, my daughter experienced wild camping, caving, canyoning, rock climbing (she's far better than I ever was,) orienteering, skiing, sailing, wild water canoeing, and wild swimming before she left school.
I did none of those things until I hit my 20s, (and I still cannot swim.)
Post edited at 00:27