My Nephew is a Dinosaur

​That title might sound a little strange at first, so let me begin by providing a little backstory.  My four year old nephew loves dinosaurs.  Now when I say he loves them, I mean he has a complete and total preoccupation with them that borders on obsession.  It is actually quite impressive.  He can tell you what kind the dinosaur is, when it lived, whether it was an herbivore or carnivore, and about any other tidbit of information you may ever want to know.  I once made the mistake of calling a dinosaur he was playing with a Tyrannosaurus Rex when it was not one.  He looked at me with his big blue eyes and effectively made me feel like an idiot with the retort, “I’m not playing with a T-Rex.  This is an Indominus Rex.”  Well then.  Now I know.
 
My sister does a great job encouraging his passion.  Coloring books, toys, and t-shirts adorned with dinosaurs galore fill his closet.  This obsession with dinosaurs has caused a few headaches and embarrassment at times though.  My personal favorite example of this would have to be the time my sister took my nephew for a walk down the main street in their small town.  My nephew refused to answer to his name, and in fact would only respond with growls and roars.  This would be okay had he not been roaring as loud as he could at every person they passed complete with dinosaur-style walking.  If you can imagine an elongated, high stepping stride with hands drawn into his chest startling elderly women and making other toddlers cry as he roared in their faces.
 
As embarrassed as my sister may have been, I find the situation as equally wonderful.  We are a society completely inundated with technology.  This technology can be a great tool when it entertains and assists us.  Yet, children today spend more time in front of a screen than ever before.  My nephew’s dinosaur demonstration on the sidewalk was a display of creative and active play that seems to becoming more and more rare all the time.  A generation ago screen time was limited to the television.  Now in addition to watching televisions kids are surrounded by PlayStations, Xboxes, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, iPhones, tablets, laptops, and more.  In fact, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children today now use electronics at a rate of more than four to five times the recommended allotment.  When a child’s first reaction to “I’m bored,” is to grab the nearest electronic, then Houston, we have a problem.
 
Numerous studies show the undisputed benefits to creative and active play that just cannot be replicated by anything with a screen.  On the other side on the coin, overexposure to electronics can have devastating effects on the developing brains of children.  Between the ages of 0-2, children’s brains triple in size and continue at a rapid rate until age twenty-one.  Early brain development is determined by environmental stimuli, or lack thereof. Stimulation to a developing brain caused by overexposure to technologies (cell phones, internet, iPads, TV), has been shown to be associated with executive functioning and attention deficit, cognitive delays, impaired learning, increased impulsivity and decreased ability to self-regulate, e.g. tantrums (Small 2008, Pagini 2010).  While that fact alone may seem scary, children who use too much technology also have higher rates of obesity, mental illness, aggression, addictions, and sleep deprivation (Anderson 2007, Rowan 2010, Mentzoni 2011, Tremblay 2011, Boston College 2012).
 
So, what exactly is creative play?  Creative play includes games, painting, building, drawing, pretending, or any other artistic or imaginative activity.  The benefits of creative play are endless. Specifically, creative play helps build intellectual curiosity in skills such as math, geometry, measurement, and more.  The creative process helps kids develop critical thinking skills every time they ask themselves questions such as, “What color should I use when drawing this picture?” or “How high can I build this tower before it would fall over?”  Physically, creative play helps small children master fine motor skills through actions like holding a paint brush or taking two Legos apart.  In addition, creative play can give children a positive opportunity in which to express their feelings therefore promoting emotional well-being.
 
Active play has some of the same benefits as creative play.  Playing outside gives children the opportunity to learn about nature and the world around them by exploring.  Active kids have far less rates of obesity and juvenile diabetes (Tremblay 2011).  In fact, kids with an electronic device in their bedroom are 30% more likely to be obese (Feng 2011).  Team sports or other athletic opportunities not only possess the obvious physical benefits such as gross motor skill development, but also have social and emotional ones as well.  Children who belong to a team have better cooperative skills, tend to make friends easier, and are less shy.
 
These facts can seem overwhelming.  What are parents to do in a world that seems to thrive on technology?  Like anything in life, moderation should be key.  Technology doesn’t need to be outlawed, but parents should definitely keep responsible expectations in mind for its usage.  Take this as an opportunity to invest in your child’s interests.  Go for a bike ride, paint a picture together, play a board game, make a blanket fort, play catch, and by all means, walk down the street with your hands drawn to your chest and roar together like dinosaurs.  After all, “Rawr!” is just dinosaur for “I love you.”