It’s back to school time, and there isn’t a parent out there who doesn’t want their child to make friends and do well. Preparing children for school isn’t just about getting new clothes and re-establishing sleep routines, it’s also about making sure children’s minds are able to pay attention and learn.

Today we have Cris Rowan with us- an amazing pediatric occupational therapist and child development expert from British Columbia. She has been in practice for 20 years now and has spent the past 15 years working in schools; she is SIPT certified, and she is the owner of “Zone’in Programs, Inc.”- which offers products, workshops, and trainings to improve children’s health and enhance their academic performance. She provides training throughout North America on topics such as Sensory Integration, attention and learning, fine motor development, and the impact of technology on child development. She is also an expert reviewer for the Canadian Family Physician Journal, and she authors a very informative monthly Zone’in Developmental Series Newsletter which is how I found her!

As kids today are changing, and more-and-more kids are having problems with attention, learning and behaviors, Cris talked to us about the most important factors we need to consider when looking at balancing our kids’ daily activities for healthy child development. She stated “studies have found that children who use more that 1-2 hours per day of combined technology (TV, video games, internet, texting), are likely to encounter a variety of difficulties, both at home and at school” and that “wise parents might consider helping their children “unplug” their way back to school, but “pulling the plug” is too extreme”.

Balanced Technology Management (BTM) is a concept Cris Rowan developed, that states children need to learn how to manage balance between activities they need to grow and succeed, with technology use. There are 3 critical factors outlined below that need to be addressed in order to balance good child development based on this concept.

1. Movement – the vestibular system is the sensory system found inside the inner ear which is responsible for helping children to learn their center of gravity, set their core muscle tone, successfully coordination their right and left sides of their body as well as the upper half with the lower half of their body. It also helps the eyes learn to talk to each other for coordinated activities such as reading, copying, etc…

  • Young children require 3-4 hours per day of active rough and tumble play to achieve adequate sensory stimulation to their vestibular and proprioceptive sensory systems for normal development.
  • Vestibular and proprioceptive input ensures normal development of posture, bilateral coordination, optimal arousal states and self regulation necessary for achieving foundation skills for eventual school entry.
  • Infants with low tone, toddlers failing to reach motor milestones, and children who are unable to pay attention or achieve basic foundation skills for literacy, are examples of inadequate vestibular and proprioceptive input.
  • The use of safety restraint devices such as infant bucket seats, toddler carrying packs and strollers have further limited movement in children, as have TV and videogame overuse.
  • Many of today’s parents perceive outdoor play as ‘unsafe’, which additionally limits essential developmental components that are usually attained in outdoor rough and tumble play.

Cris’s favorite activity recommendations for movement inside the home include: using a platform swing suspended from your ceiling; wrestling; and building forts and knocking them down.

2. Touch – the tactile system is the sensory system throughout our entire body that sends information to our brain about what we touch and feel.

  • The skin is the largest organ of the body, with 70,000 receptors per square inch.
  • Tactile sensory input is a biological need, and without touch humans would die.
  • Tactile stimulation is integral to child health and well being.
  • When infants are deprived of human touch, they develop into children who exhibit excessive agitation and anxiety, and may become depressed by early childhood (Dr. Ashley Montagu).
  • Technology is grossly limiting access to necessary tactile stimulation, and many children are touch deprived.

Cris’s favorite activity recommendations include: hugs; reading books together; playing “hands-on”; rolling the child tight in a blanket to play “burrito” games; or tucking the child in tight to bed, or into the corners of the couch with a blanket (which is great for anxious or agitated kids).

3. Human Connection – this is defined as the primary attachment bond between infant and parent.

  • The critical period for attachment development is the first year of life
  • Connection to technology is causing a disconnection from self, others, nature and spirit. This is more and more often seen in a parent who spends time using technology outside of working hours and therefore less time connecting with the family. Cris asks the parents about their technology use first, before looking at their child’s technology use.
  • Disconnection is most apparent in children with Autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression and bipolar disorders, all of which are increasing in number and severity.
  • Attachment disorders are causally related to child and adult addictions.
  • It’s highly valuable to have one parent at home with a child through his or her first year of development (when possible), in order to strengthen this human connection and parent bond.

Thank you so much Cris for your time and expertise on this new and very important topic of balancing our technology use for the benefit of our children!

Next week, Cris Rowan has agreed to come back to talk more specifically about how too much technology use can affect a child’s physical, mental, social and academic health. I highly encourage those who are reading this blog to listen to this episode to get more great information, national statistics and details from Cris on this topic.  I also encourage you to check out Cris’s website, games and products, and to sign up for her free monthly newsletter, which has been amazingly informative to me! You can connect with her in the following ways:

www.zonein.ca
info@zonein.ca

1-888-8zonein (888-896-6346)
604-885-2666

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