| Saving Childhood |
| Written by Lenora Newcombe | ||||||||
| Monday, 01 February 2010 08:36 | ||||||||
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Just a few examples that he gives include the disappearance of:
We must be careful that when arguing for the rights of the child, we are not simply arguing for the right of a child to be treated as an adult, but ensure that children have a right to childhood. The Hunter Alliance for Childhood (H.A.C.) is a newly formed, non-profit advocacy and support group dedicated to the protection and preservation of childhood. The group advocates a natural, unhurried childhood, with ample opportunities for active and imaginative play, free from the pressures of commercialism, sexualization and over-scheduling. The primary aim of the group is: “To work in partnership with families and professionals to develop and implement holistic practices that enhance the health and well-being of children, and protect and preserve childhood in its natural state.” In achieving this aim, the group’s main roles are to: 1. Facilitate the sharing of information and resources in order to raise community awareness of critical issues facing childhood today and formulate strategies for addressing these issues. 2. Provide a support network for those members of the community who share similar hopes for, and concerns about the state of childhood both now and in the future. 3. Inspire and facilitate within individuals a sense of empowerment to enable pro-active measures to take place. Last year, with another mum, I founded the H.A.C. As an Early Childhood Teacher and mother of three, the idea to start a group like this came to me around the time my first child started school. I wanted to create awareness of critical issues affecting childhood so that families could make informed choices about the experience of childhood they offered to their children. Naturally there is a lot of conflicting advice out there. What was once common sense parenting is being forgotten as families struggle to keep up with the demands of popular culture. Seven years and two more children later, I finally made the decision to act. The catalyst for this was viewing the documentary, Consuming Kids The Commercialisation of Childhood. The film primarily explores the issues of marketing to children and children’s over-use of screen technologies. A public screening of the documentary seemed like a perfect opportunity to launch the Hunter Alliance for Childhood, as it aptly reflected the ethos of the group. The film sums up with disturbing clarity, the true and pervasive impact of aspects of contemporary popular culture on child development and childhood itself, and evokes a sense of urgency that the issue deserves. I spoke with other mums at my playgroup after the documentary aired on the ABC and one mother made the important comment that, “People are just not willing to put themselves out there and make those changes if they feel like there is no-one to support them.” I realised then that creating a network of support for families should be one of the primary functions of our group. I am very lucky to have a supportive group of friends who share similar beliefs and understandings about children. However outside of this circle I am often frustrated at having to continually justify and defend my choices for my children to family, friends and acquaintances as issues arise. (Christmas presents for my children can be a particularly tricky one to tackle without appearing difficult and ungrateful). Some of the most common and, in my opinion, misinformed, viewpoints I regularly encounter are: • “Television is O.K. for kids as long as its age-appropriate/ not violent/ educational,”; • “If children don’t learn to read early they’ll never catch up,”; • “If children don’t learn to use computers early, they’ll be scared to use them when they grow up/ they won’t be able to compete in the workforce,”; • “Children won’t fit in unless you give them what the other kids have got,”; • “Children need to be involved in lots of extra-curricular activities to develop their confidence and self-esteem”; These popular opinions are entirely understandable and do reveal some unfortunate truths about contemporary society. However I feel that they show an incomplete understanding of the issues, the consequences of which can be harmful to children’s overall well-being. H.A.C. urges all parents and professionals working with children to further explore their beliefs in regards to these important issues and weigh up the benefits against the costs to a child’s holistic development. Since its formation just five months ago the group has: acquired twelve members (including parents and teachers) with a mailing list of twenty five; hosted two public film screenings; established communications with local community groups and organized three public events for the first half of this year. We are currently working on registering our group as a non-profit organization and developing our website. The focus of our efforts in the year ahead will be to establish links within the local community, however some of the projects we hope to be able to initiate in 2010 include: • the development of sample policy documents on the issues of commercialism and screen technologies in children’s services • a ‘Curriculum for Childhood’ document for use in Early Childhood settings • an advisory service for child care centres and schools. We are eager to hear from local community groups and organisations (such as schools, P&C groups child care centres, playgroups, church groups, child health centres) who may be interested in supporting the work of the Hunter Alliance for Childhood. Remembering the age when children were delegated the status of property, were sent to work in the mines, and when killing your own child was within a citizen’s legal right, it is easy to recognise that just because a practice is accepted by majority society, does not make it right. As a society we must first decide whether childhood is important enough to allow it to continue to exist. If so we then need to explore the causes of its rapidly approaching disappearance and start to reverse the trend. Even if societal change in favour of the conservation of childhood cannot be achieved, The Hunter Alliance for Childhood hopes at least to encourage as many people as we can to recognise that it is possible to enable their children at least, to experience childhood in its fullest sense - despite the fact that the rest of society may be (unwittingly or not) inevitably extinguishing it. In the words of Neil Postman: “It is not conceivable that our culture will forget that it needs children. But it is halfway toward forgetting that children need childhood. Those who insist on remembering shall perform a noble service." For membership enquiries or to request inclusion on our mailing list please contact Lenora on (02)4954 4717 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Reference: Postman, Neil (1982) Delacorte Press (New York) H.A.C Coming Event The Hunter Alliance for Childhood invites you to attend a presentation by Maggie Hamilton, author of: What’s Happening to Our Girls? (and soon to be published companion book about boys). Join us for an evening of insightful discussion about the cultural forces shaping the personalities, morality and wellbeing of our girls: from birth through to teens. Share and discover what families and professionals can do to make a difference in the lives of our children. A limited number of tickets will be available on the night, however to ensure your place, please reserve a seat by contacting Lenora on 49544717 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Date: Friday 19th March Time: 7.00pm (approximate finish 9 pm) Venue: Cardiff R.S.L. Function Room, 45 Macquarie Rd Cardiff Cost: $15 (includes supper)
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Comments (3)
katepickle
said:
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... As a mother of three (almost four) and an early childhood educator I find this topic really interesting. I'm so sorry I missed seeing the documentary on TV. I see my children affected by commercialism and consumerism despite feeling like I was somewhat on top of that sort of thing for my kids... obviously I'm not! Hoping to be able to find a copy of the DVD, as I think our local Babies and Birthing Group might be interested. Pity we are not local to you as I think your group sounds fabulous - good luck in the future. |
jodiemac
said:
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... That documentary was incredibly poignant,and scary to watch when you realaise it's happening before your eyes in your own home. Society as a whole no longer has many of the protections that used to exist for children and adolescents, and indeed, is out to clutch them as consumers from birth. Last year I reviewed Maggie Hamilton's book, and recommended it to all parents of girls. It is a powerful book, one that serves to educate parents about the plight of our girls, and what we can expect to happen if nothing changes. As parents, it's time we started to join together and defend the sort of innocence that we had as children, instead of just accepting the 'mini-me' pseudo-adult culture our kids are absorbing. I'm watching with interest. Good on you Lenora, for being proactive. Our kids are worth it.  |
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