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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

... to think this is very sad (re: screen time)

92 replies

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 13:52

My 10 yo son is a Scout within a group of about 30-40 (mostly) boys and (a few) girls aged between 10.5 and 12.5. Last weekend, he went away on camp, under canvas, with lots of fun outdoor activities, campfire cooking and plenty of mud!

Only 12 children out of the whole group signed up for the camp. The others, allegedly, 'would rather be home on their X-boxes'. At least one child was sent against his wishes and spent two days grumbling about missing his X-boxes and other assorted electrical devices.

Now I acknowledge this is second hand information via a ten year-old child and therefore not the most reliable of sources. But don't you think it's really sad that we are raising a generation that, by and large, prefers virtual activity to real-life adventure?

OP posts:

Greencurtain · 29/01/2015 14:19

I have to say it's bloody freezing and I'd prefer some screen time to outdoor time right now! Different if it was summer.

hennybeans · 29/01/2015 14:19

YANBU. It is sad, although I suspect that isn't the reason for some of the non-attendees.
My DS (7) has to be pulled off whatever electronic thing he's doing kicking and screaming practically. Once he's off and doing whatever other activity it is though, he's happy and enjoys it. It's just that he gets so sucked into the Xbox or computer that he can't pull himself away. Thus, I don't allow it on school days when we have other evening activities.
It does make me worry about this generation growing up with constant screen time. Or even adults who can't put their mobiles down for more than a minute without getting twitchy.

Original poster

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 14:23

I'm struggling to believe that affordability was an issue, partly because of the area we live in, and partly because they clearly have enough money to spend on X-boxes, iPads, etc.!

But as you say, I may not be getting the whole story ...

OP posts:

BubbleGirl01 · 29/01/2015 14:26

Meant that to add that they would grumble and stamp for a bit if I forced them as I have done before but they would have loved it and said they enjoyed it when they got back.

Did the same with 17 yr old DD last year, not one of her friends would do the NCS Challenge which is 3 weeks of camping and staying in a youth hostel. She point blank refused to do it on her own but I booked her on it and 'forced' her to go and she thoroughly enjoyed it. She still talks to the kids she met there, none of who she had ever met before, and some of her other friends tried to sign up when she told them what she had been doing but they were too late.

Parents should gently strongarm encourage DCs to do this stuff or they won't do it because the easier option is to isolate themselves at home with screens.

MaryWestmacott · 29/01/2015 14:32

I did a 'snow and ice' camp when I was in scout about a million years ago. I can still remember the cold. I would say no too.

andsmile · 29/01/2015 14:36

Meh - My DS tries to wiggle out of his afterschool stuff so he can stay home 'cos he just wants to' then the negotiations begin. If I do xyz can I have half hour on Xbox...as during the week he has to earn time on it. Weekends he can just play.

I make him go to his activities after school, or encourage him to do his drawings/stories or lego. If he has done his studying he can half an hour.

i wish I had one domestic task completed by a fairy for everytime he mentioned minecraft. - Id have enough to sell on to the whole estate. Does myhead in.

GummyBunting · 29/01/2015 14:37

When I was a kid I would much rather have sat at home reading a book than go camping in January (different story in the summer). I don't see how this is any different?
I think it's a shame that videogames are generally seen as a lesser pastime that stops kids from doing 'better' things.

PeaStalks · 29/01/2015 14:45

I would not let a 10 year old go camping in January.

SomewhereIBelong · 29/01/2015 14:46

I have grown up almost surgically attached to screens - Atari/Spectrum/Amstrad/Dragon/Commodore etc etc etc... (I am now 50 - so from VERY early days of home computing)

they were TOTALLY responsible for my rising to a Network Manager role in government as my main career, over £50k salary - I paid off my mortgage before I left to have kids..

my parents would much rather I had gone camping too....

ouryve · 29/01/2015 14:47

I'm 45 and would rather buy myself an xbox if it meant I didn't have to camp in the middle of January.

Original poster

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 14:51

Ah, but "somewhere", even high-flyers need a weekend off sometimes. Screen time and fresh air are not mutually exclusive! If you tell me you never enjoy any time outdoors then I'd still think it sad despite the good salary and I'd think your parents should perhaps have pressed a little harder!

OP posts:

Original poster

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 14:51

Sorry, bold fail!

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sarkymare · 29/01/2015 14:59

By under canvas do you mean bashers?

BubbleGirl01 · 29/01/2015 15:00

SomewhereIBelong you give me hope for DTS1. I would have him enrolled in 'ScreenAddicts Anonymous' if such a group existed. He even smuggles them into the loo and hides under the dining table with carefully positioned chairs all around as he thinks I won't find him there on them and under his bed .

ShatnersBassoon · 29/01/2015 15:01

No, it wouldn't be bashas, that would be an insane idea! Under canvas means 'in a tent'.

Original poster

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 15:01

sarkymare bashers? I mean tents!

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MajorasMask · 29/01/2015 15:03

Agree with Gummy and Somewhere - as a kid I was in the library every weekend, then came home in the afternoon to play on the Playstation. My after school club in primary had a Sega Mega Drive, board games, books and a mix of stuff for every type of child, trikes in the outdoor bit (which I loved because I can't balance on two wheels!) as well as football, more strenuous stuff.

It was a glorious childhood, I read hundreds of books and played not nearly as many video games, but I still love games and DP makes games and has a similar background (he loves reading, he's dyslexic and finds it hard at times he is a big Lovecraft fan). Nothing could get either of us to go camping in January (DP would avoid camping altogether tbh) and we are still well rounded adults. My mum used to get guilt trips from my friend's parents who loved being outdoorsy, but every time they forced me into an activity it was clear how unhappy I was. I went to Brownies for a bit but didn't like it - they thankfully didn't do any proper camping though, just sleeping in village halls.

It's also a bit of a bummer for the volunteers who have given up time to take reluctant kids away. At least the children who want to go will put effort into the activities and make it easier for the adults.

sarkymare · 29/01/2015 15:06

Ahh, I've never heard under canvas to mean in tent before.

It would be an insane idea. I was going to say that camping under a basha in January is about as fun as a root canal. I just thought I would check I had the right end of the stick.

Low and behold I haven't

Original poster

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 15:10

*sarkymare" I had to go and check, and, to my relief as I'm a professional linguist, I am right!

under canvas
phrase of canvas

1.
in a tent or tents.
"the family will be living under canvas"
2.
with sails spread.
"fishermen whose boats still travel under canvas"

OP posts:

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 29/01/2015 15:10

"Would rather play on their x-boxes" sounds like something an adult has said flippantly and is probably not the least bit true.

Most people probably had sensible reasons... like it being freaking January!

Booboostoo · 29/01/2015 15:11

Nothing would induce me to go camping at any time of the year either as a kid or an adult. I spent my childhood reading books and that worked well for my career as an academic. DH spent his time staring a screen and has a highly paid IT job as a result.

Funnily enough if the activity involves horses i am willing to tolerate any amount of cold and mud, so each to his own.

YABU

Original poster

Contraryish · 29/01/2015 15:12

It's a nice cosy scout tent with everyone in together! Might have been two tents if more children had signed up!

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pinkdelight · 29/01/2015 15:12

I'm an advocate of kids having lots of outdoor play (although not in the freezing cold, and I hated camp school myself), but I found this book very interesting and reassuring about the virtues of gaming:

www.amazon.com/Reality-Broken-Games-Better-Change/dp/145583291X

I do limit screentime with my DC but dismissing x-box etc as being of less value than camping is a bit simplistic. Definitely worth a read...

googoodolly · 29/01/2015 15:14

I was dragged on all sorts of "outdoorsy" stuff as a kid. I loved the exploring and adventuring, but going out in the wind/rain and being stuck in a cold, damp tent. Not everyone enjoys that kind of thing, doesn't make them a bad person.

Give me all the exploring but a hot bath and a proper bed at the end of the day please!

saintlyjimjams · 29/01/2015 15:16

Scout tents are not cozy!!

I love camping & outdoors stuff. I would think twice about January. My younger kids hate being cold - they would say no. ELoser might go for it.

I think January rather than screen time is to blame for the poor showing.

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