the great outDoors
Wild things In his documentary, Project Wild Thing, David Bond explores how a generation of children is fascinated by screens but are strangers to the natural world
I
’m a father of two. Like any parent, I worry about my brood. Do they get enough Vitamin C? Are they OK at school? Is their childhood happy? They are 4 and 6. So what makes them happy? Honestly? They are most excited by the consumption of television, or the iPad, or of any screen – certainly more than hanging out with me. I know because I have tried the alternatives on them: chocolate cake, cameras, the zoo, parties. I’m making a feature-length documentary film for cinema called Project Wild Thing about children and their connection (or lack of connection) to nature. So I get to experiment on my kids. Or at least that is my excuse. In my own childhood, watching TV was low on the preference list when I got home from school. I wanted to drop off my bags and run straight back outside to play with friends. There is a tempting argument, partly responsible for the massive rise in time spent on screens in schools, that says that technology is good for expanding children’s brains and preparing them for the future. I agree in some respects. But, like much of my generation, I had very little IT training at school, and seem to get on fine with technology. So is a childhood with increasing screen time and rapidly decreasing nature time ideal? I was shocked to discover while making the film that my children’s generation is going to be the first in human history to have a lower life expectancy than their parents. The reason is the rise in obesity, in mental health issues and in attention deficit problems. It is hard to ignore the link to a more static lifestyle. Outside, I see a change in them almost immediately. At first they look sullenly at me as if to say: “What the hell are we doing here? The cartoons are on!” (They are always on – thanks BBC iPlayer...). Then, 30 seconds later, they become carefree. Their eyes focus away from the dreaded 30 centimetre zone that screens occupy, and, literally, they broaden their horizons. They become engrossed in the world around them. They relax. They become less stiff, less intense.
50 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL ParENT SUMMER 2013
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