Picture this scenario. You are teaching your 3-year-old about everyday objects. You use a flashcards, or iPad in these times of age. You show them a picture of a cat, a dog. They can relate what they are, because they have seen them. Then pictures of cars, buses, yes they know. You play sounds of them, meow, woof and vroom vroom. They can relate to that. Then you give them a picture of a train. You go choo-choo, and they go like, “HUH?”
Have you ever thought that kids nowadays are not having the same idea of what a train looks like to us, errr, more matured people. And not only trains, a bunch of other things as well. Here’s what I can think of ….
Trains
Trains nowadays are not the coal-burning, steam-spewing anymore. Aside from Thomas the Tank Engine (and why the heck do they call him a Tank?), I doubt my kids has ever seen a steam engine going choo choo before. All they see are the clean, electric, LRT and Mororel type.
Alarm Clock
How many of you still uses the blaring alarm clock with the two bells that goes “RIIING!” to wake you up? The one that needs to rewinding to make sure it ticks properly? How do you tell them what an alarm clock looks like?
I mean, do you still use an alarm clock? Most of us just uses our phone. Which brings me next to …..
Telephone
This I think is the biggest mistake we teach our children. I dare you, draw a telephone to you kids and explain to them what it is. And tell them what sound it makes. Similar to the alarm clock just now, how a telephone sounds is also alien to them. To our kids, phones sounds like Lady Gaga, or Beyonce, or Justin Beiber, or that annoying laughing baby sound. Anything but ring ring.
Television
When we think about television, we think about terrestrial transmission of video signals that is blurry, and the concept of “following” a television programs. We distinguish between television and Youtube, for example. Nowadays, to them, television IS Youtube. They cannot understand why is there advertisements in between a program, and why we need to wait until 8:30 pm for that primetime showtime. They are used to instant gratification.
Letters
You have to admit it, letters are dying. When was the last time you received a mail from a friend from overseas saying hi to you? This is probably the single most hardest concept for them to fathom. Why send a piece of written paper, when you can call, SMS, email, even video-call someone? The only letters you receive nowadays are probably from the bank asking money from you again.
Cameras
How would you explain to your kids the action of holding your finger like you would a camera and go “click”?
Not everyone owns a DSLR, and even if you do, you don’t really hold it like that. Cameras nowadays are either a smartphone or a point-and-shoot. You don’t really hold it to your face, and some don’t even require an actual press of the shutter.
What other errors that we teach our kids that you can think of? Drop me a comment down below.