Give a kid a Stick for Christmas?!? Whaaa…?

They’re kidding, right? It’s like Santa filling your child’s stocking with coal because they’re on his “Naughty” list, right? I mean, c’mon…who’d give a kid a stick for Christmas (or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa, etc.)?

Turns out this is no joke, not by a long shot. Project Wild Thing is a completely serious movement, an effort to re-institute some balance back into our increasingly teched up, overly plugged-in lives. And, they are not “Ho, Ho, Ho”-ing when they suggest sticks – or rocks or shells or “bug hotels” – as THE go-to gifts for your children this holiday season.

Why? Because though technology is filling our lives with cool, fun, and often useful gizmos and gadgets, it’s also damaging our children (and ourselves!) We’re becoming more and more sedentary, glued to screens and remote controls. Our physical selves, our emotional selves, and our spiritual selves are being transmuted by our digitally dominated lives. Our children may be the first generation ever to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents!

Project Wild Thing has put together a great little starter list of ideas, gifts you could give this year as alternatives to the latest and greatest gadget or game. It includes lots of free or cheap stuff, such as the stick mentioned above, along with short reasons why these anti-tech gifts make for good fun. For example:

“A stick – easy to pick up, performs a thousand different uses, and can be thrown away as easily as you found it. Great for helping with imaginary games, playing pooh sticks, building things.”

I’m not sure what “playing pooh sticks” is – I think it’s a British thing – but I do remember countless sticks in my childhood that performed a wider variety of tasks than any smartphone I’ve ever owned.

There is something to this idea. Though we at Health Nuts Media love our tech as much as anybody, there are lots of good reasons to keep balance in every aspect of life. It’s almost always healthier, often cheaper, and usually smarter.

Give your kid some balance back this year. Give ’em a stick!
 

Dr. Gregg
Posted – December 10, 2013