The New Childhood
Raising kids to thrive in a digitally connected world
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- £2.99
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- £2.99
Publisher Description
IT'S TIME FOR A NEW APPROACH TO SCREEN TIME.
Jordan Shapiro believes we need to rethink parental attitudes to technology. There's a damaging orthodoxy that presents screen-time as the ultimate modern parenting evil and the only acceptable response to it is restriction. Shapiro, psychologist, educational pioneer and father of two, draws on cutting-edge research in education, philosophy, neuroscience and psychology to show we've let fear and nostalgia stand in the way of our children's best interests.
In his optimistic, inspiring and practical guide to the new, digital frontier of childhood, he reframes gaming, social media and smartphones to offer fresh, evidence-based advice on how to take a more progressive approach.
*Winner of the Spirituality & Practice Book Award as one of the 50 Best Spiritual Books of 2018.*
'Shapiro successfully transforms our worst fears about screen time into excitement about the potential for redesigning childhood around our latest technologies ... It's a necessary book that I urge you to read.' - The Telegraph
'Shapiro knows what he's talking about ... Shapiro's arguments are compelling' - USA Today
'a thought-provoking, bold read. As a father of two daughters at similar ages to Jordan's children (7 and 9), facing similar challenges and dilemmas, the book provided me with an inspiring and optimistic perspective that's rare in the current media landscape.' - Variety
'Timely, essential, and thought-provoking, The New Childhood is the must-read parenting guide for raising 21st century, digitally driven kids. Instead of raising a white flag and giving in to social media and the Internet, Jordan Shapiro tells parents how to embrace technology, stay involved in their children's lives, and prepare them for their future. Read it! I promise you'll rethink your parenting. I couldn't put it down' - Michele Borba, EdD, author of UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed In Our All-About-Me World
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Shapiro, a coordinator of child development research at Sesame Workshop, presents a well-formulated, deeply insightful point of view on the place of technology in raising kids. Avoiding being either a Luddite or technology cheerleader, Shapiro explains that adults must still take responsibility for guiding child cognitive and social development, despite their possible discomfort at the "multidirectional, nonlinear intersection" of modern childhood and the digital world. His analysis places early-21st-century tools in the context of older concepts, showing how the game Minecraft promotes imaginative play and peer connection just as playing outside does, or how virtual locations can meaningfully and healthily provide public spaces. Shapiro works backward as well as forward, diving into the cultural history of older modes to show how they are not timeless but grounded in outdated ideas; notably, he argues the monastery-based model of school bells and quiet desks no longer matches the diversified attention required by modern workplaces. He admonishes parents and educators not to give technology "autonomy and credit," but to treat it as a helpful tool. Placing modern child-rearing in the context of the long story of human cultural adaptation, this manual makes the challenges of screens more approachable, and the adult role in meeting them clearer.