What do kids do these days: The Major Ways Being a Kid Is Different Now Than It Was 20 Years Ago

The Major Ways Being a Kid Is Different Now Than It Was 20 Years Ago

The Major Ways Being a Kid Is Different Now Than It Was 20 Years Ago

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This means children may experience less time participating in creative outdoor play.

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• Growing up today is a lot different than it was 20 years ago. 
• Today, technology helps many children keep in touch with their family and friends, but the constant ability for kids to communicate with others via text and on social media comes with some risks.
• Today, some kids may not have as many personal responsibilities, like cooking and laundry, which can stifle their independence and make it difficult for them to transition into adulthood. 
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

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Over the past 20 years, new technology and changing trends have really impacted what it’s like to be a kid.

Children’s lives are often influenced by their environment, so it’s not surprising that growing up now is different than it was two decades ago, especially when you look at all of the medical and technological advances we’ve seen since.

Here’s a look at how being a kid has changed over the past 20 years.

A child’s attitude toward family dinners may be different than it was 20 years ago.

For many, family dinners still happen, but they may not look the same as they did 20 years ago.

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Dr. Natasha Burgert, a pediatrician in Kansas City, Missouri, told Insider that the environment around sharing a meal with family is much different today than it was 20 years ago.

She said a few decades ago, kids were expected make meals with the family a priority. They would often be expected to sit around the dinner table with extended family members each night, sharing stories and talking about their days.

Bergert said that, in many cases, children today may not be expected to participate in these sorts of familial dinners, especially since eating meals is often done with convenience in mind.

“The environment around eating has changed. It’s more of a transaction, like, ‘I’m going to run through McDonald’s or Starbucks just to get my kids something to grab-and-go on the way to practice,’ instead of actually sitting down and having the social and cognitive benefits of actually sitting around the table,” she told Insider. 

Children today are more able to safely change plans and keep in touch with family and friends.

Today, kids can easily communicate with friends outside of the classroom.

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Thanks to advancements in technology, kids today can stay in touch with parents and friends without having to place a call over the landline.  

“[Kids and parents] are always connected [and] always reachable, and that’s something that wasn’t necessarily the case 20 years ago,” added Dr. Sarah Vinson, an Atlanta-based child and adolescent psychiatrist.

This has also made changing schedules and making last-minute plans a lot easier. 

“Back in the day, we used to have to call our friends, make appointments, and actually show up at the time that we said we’re going to show up,” Kristie Skoglund, licensed mental health counselor for children and chief operating officer at The Florida Center for Early Childhood.

“Now, all you have to do is text a friend if you’re running late or need to reschedule at the last minute. 20 years ago, you didn’t have that opportunity to be courteous,” she added. 

Plus, Bergert told Insider that kids today can “connect with relatives and friends in a positive way using technology.” This can help children feel less alone and closer to individuals in their lives that they may not get to see often.  

In many cases, children are spending less time outdoors and more time playing alone

Today, it might be more common to see a child playing video games instead of riding a bicycle.

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Bergert told Insider that one of the biggest changes for kids today is that they aren’t “roaming the neighborhood anymore” as they may have been 20 years ago.

She explained there are many different reasons that kids spend less time playing in their neighborhoods, and one of them is overscheduling. As she implied, today, kids often have their schedules loaded up with a range of activities, from college-prep courses to ballet. 

Skoglund also pointed out that parental concerns about neighborhood safety can play a big role in whether or not a child spends more time outside, adding that  “parents are more fearful of crime and sexual abuse” than they had been 20 years ago. 

And when kids spend less time playing outside, they may feel more isolated and lonely.

This means children may experience less time participating in creative outdoor play.

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Even though children today can readily communicate with others using cell phones and computers, they may feel more lonely and isolated than they did 20 years ago.  

And as Bergert mentioned earlier, overscheduling can be another reason kids aren’t getting outside and exercising their social skills — and “[this] can lead to a lot of isolation for young kids,” she told Insider.

She said that when kids can’t find others to hang out with, they often just come home and engage in isolating solo activities and independent play. 

“If kids weren’t so overscheduled, then there would always be someone outside to play with and you can have some creative, outdoor, active play, which was typically the pattern 20 years ago,” she told Insider. 

Some kids have fewer personal responsibilities these days, which can stifle their sense of independence.

Today, some kids may become adults without knowing how to do basic chores.

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Bergert said that, in her experience, kids growing up in today’s culture aren’t as equipped with necessary life skills, especially when it comes to cooking and cleaning. 

“Kids had a lot more personal responsibilities 20 years ago, and the level of parental involvement and the level of guilt that happens when parents don’t think they’re involved enough has led to kids having less personal responsibility,” said Bergert.

She said this lack of independence can impact kids as they get older, especially when they transition to adulthood and have to take care of themselves.  

“Kids today have been fortunate enough to have a lot of support and, in some manner, in my opinion, that’s stealing an opportunity away for them to have more independence,” she told Insider. 

Many teens today may be less likely to drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes, but they may be more inclined to try other substances instead.

Some kids today may be less tempted by alcohol, but more interested in other substances.

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Vinson said unlike kids in the previous two decades, young people today are more likely to avoid alcohol and tobacco, saying they’ve “gotten the message” that those sorts of substances aren’t good.   

But she said they may be exposed to new substances instead, including marijuana. 

“As marijuana becomes legalized and decriminalized in places — and even in places where it hasn’t been — that perceived risk of harm has plummeted with teenagers throughout the country,” explained Vinson. “So, what you’re seeing is increased use [in the drug].”

As a clinician, she shared that teenagers regularly tell her they don’t use alcohol and would never smoke cigarettes, but “they smoke marijuana and think it’s totally fine.”

Read More: Today, fewer US teens are smoking, doing drugs, and drinking milk

Since medical professionals know more than they did 20 years ago, many children may have a different experience dealing with illnesses and genetic conditions.

If a child is diagnosed with a chronic illness today, medical professionals may be better able to provide them support than they were 20 years ago.

Stefano Tinti / Shutterstock

Additionally, Bergert pointed out that many doctors today know more about childhood health than they did two decades ago. 

“Being diagnosed with certain types of cancer or certain types of chronic illnesses, like diabetes, [has] a completely different connotation than it [did] 20 years ago,” she explained.

She said doctors and health-care professionals now have access to more information and research about a variety of genetic diseases and adolescent-health issues “so many more kids are growing and thriving in the face of chronic illnesses” than they were 20 years ago.

Depression and anxiety may be more prevalent among kids — but it’s now easier to diagnose and acknowledge these mental-health issues than it was 20 years ago.

Kids 20 years ago may have also dealt with depression and anxiety, but were never properly diagnosed.

Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Vinson told Insider that “there seems to be an increase in depression and anxiety in kids today,” but is quick to point out that she thinks this is largely because it’s been increasingly more recognized. 

In the past, it may have been more common for certain mental-health issues to be overlooked because they were difficult for doctors to comprehend and diagnosis.  

“Believe it or not, decades ago people thought kids are happy-go-lucky, they’re young, they don’t have any worries, so they don’t get depressed,” she said. “We know that’s not true now, and I think part of it is that we’re getting better at catching it.”

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5 Ways Kids Spend Time Differently Today Than in the Past

5 Ways Kids Spend Time Differently Today Than in the Past

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Today’s kids have way less free time than their parents.

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• Today’s kids are busier than ever, their days packed with structured activities like school, sports, and tutoring.
• Kids a century ago had increased free time, spent more time outside, and slept longer than the kids of today’s digital era.
• Here are five ways modern kids spend their time differently.

Today’s children are busy. Between school, sports, music, gymnastics, tutoring, and dance, it seems like children have less unstructured free time than ever.

According to Dr. Robert Murray, pediatrician and vice chair of the nonprofit Action for Healthy Kids, unstructured time helps kids learn how to self-direct and how to build critical social and emotional skills that will help them interact with others and self-regulate as adults.

The snack food company GoGo SqueeZ, a partner of Action for Healthy Kids, recently conducted a survey of over 1,000 US adults with children under the age of 12. The study found that 85% of the parents believe scheduled activities like sports and clubs lead to greater success in life. Additionally, 72% of the respondents felt their kids had less free and unstructured time as compared to their own childhoods. 

According to research, the kids of today are spending their time in ways that are significantly different than kids a single generation back — here’s how it could be affecting them.

1. Kids simply have less free time

Self-directed playtime is on the decline for kids.

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According to a study published in Pediatrics, free time is declining for many children. Time previously used for free play has been curbed to make room for structured activities like longer school days and extracurriculars, which could deprive children of the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional benefits play can provide.

Not only do kids have less free time, but they’re also spending less time playing outdoors. A study published in 2017 by Gallup found that children spend an average of 18.6 hours of their free time playing on screens per week compared to 10.6 hours spent playing outside per week.

2. Screen time has risen dramatically

Kids are spending a lot of time using technology.

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Perhaps it’s no surprise that kids spend more time staring a screen these days, given the ubiquity of computers, smartphones, tablets, and televisions.

However, there has been a dramatic uptick in hours spent staring at media. According to a BBC News, in the mid 1990s, children in the UK between the ages of five and 16 had an average of three hours of screen time each day. In 2015, kids consumed six and a half hours of screen time per day. on average.

3. Kids spend much less time outside

Less time outdoors can result in less physical fitness and vitamin D deficiency.

Katya Shut/Shutterstock

A UK survey conducted by the National Trust found that modern children spend half as much time outdoors as their parents did, despite the fact that 96% of the parents surveyed felt it was important for kids to have a “connection to nature. “

There’s even a term for lacking that connection: nature-deficit disorder. Although it’s not a medical ailment, nature-deficit disorder describes the “growing gap between nature and children,” which can lead to less physical fitness and vitamin D deficiency, which can result in other health problems, according to a paper in Educational Leadership.

4. Kids are getting less sleep

There’s less time for rest.

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After hours of basketball practice, drum lessons, math tutoring, and dance classes, there are only so many hours in the day for children to rest.

According to the National Sleep Foundation, kids aged six to 13 should get nine to 11 hours of sleep each night, and 14 to 17 year olds should get eight to 10.

However, according to a national survey published in 2015 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 58% of American middle school students and more than 72% of high school students were not getting enough sleep on school nights.

5. They are doing a lot more homework

Children may be spending too many hours each night doing homework.

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Homework can strengthen kids’ skills and help them learn, but too much could hurt more than help.

In fact, a research paper published in PISA in Focus found that any more than four hours of homework per week has a negligible impact on academic performance. 

Though the amount of homework students are responsible for has generally stayed the same for decades, that’s not true of 6- to 8-year-olds. For them, the amount of weekly homework doubled between 1981 and 1997, according to research from the University of Michigan.

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Children’s gynecologist explained how to help a girl in “critical days”

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Chief Pediatric Gynecologist Elena Uvarova: Hormones are useful, but with reasonable prescription and use

Irina Krasnopolskaya

How to help a girl in “critical days”? Hormone treatment: should I be afraid? The RG columnist talks about this and not only with the chief pediatric gynecologist of the Russian Ministry of Health, Professor Elena Uvarova.

Elena Vitalievna, why has the calendar of “critical” days for girls been violated more and more lately?

Elena Uvarova: Yes, unfortunately, it is. Irregular periods in most cases are associated with malnutrition. Modern girls, in pursuit of fashion, to meet the standards of Hollywood, at their own discretion, sit down on one or another diet. I am often approached by parents of, to put it mildly, very thin girls who are already 15-16 years old, and they have not had “sick” days. Another reason is an unhealthy passion for strength exercises and fitness.

But there is another extreme: when the need to eat stress develops. Girls eat it in such quantity that it is difficult for them to move because of the extra pounds. And the result is the absence of menstruation, when they should already be. Moreover, if they do appear, they pass either irregularly or for an excessively long time.

Such a girl came to you. Most likely with my mother. What do you prescribe for regulation? Hormones? But they are not devoid of side effects and, probably, are not safe?

Elena Uvarova: I prescribe any treatment only after a detailed examination in order to understand the most likely cause of the failure. If, according to the results of the examination, I understand that hormones can help restore the rhythm or are necessary to prevent the recurrence of cycle disorders, I individually select the type and duration of the hormonal preparation. And if hormones are necessary for treatment, then they are not only not dangerous, but very important at this stage. Although, in addition to hormones, there are other equally effective plant and vitamin-mineral complexes. Everything is individual!

By the way, failures often occur also because girls are simply not psychologically ready for such changes in their bodies, in their lives.

We have created a website for girls and their parents, which can suggest the address of the nearest pediatric gynecologist to the house

Who should cook? Parents, school? But often all the information is from friends or from the Internet.

Elena Uvarova: First of all, mother, grandmother. Or an older sister, if there is one. And at school, unfortunately, they rarely know how to talk about it delicately with girls. For example, in physical education lessons, a girl cannot be forced to perform a standard set of exercises on “critical” days. But the physical education teacher either does not know about this, or does not want to know.

And what to do?

Elena Uvarova: An extremely difficult question. I can only say: there should be an atmosphere of trust in the school, so that the girls hope that they will be understood and relieved of unnecessary physical exertion on such days.

Do the girl and mother know which doctor to go to in order to be prescribed the right drugs for her? Even in big cities there are not enough children’s gynecologists and endocrinologists. Where to go?

Elena Uvarova: Hormones can and should be prescribed by a specialist gynecologist for children and adolescents. As a last resort – the children’s endocrinologist. I note that in many areas there are pediatric gynecologists. Yes, and adult gynecologists are specially trained to help in such situations. In addition, we have created a website for girls and their parents, which can tell you the address of the nearest pediatric gynecologist to your home.

I am often approached by women who have various cycle disorders, or who take hormones to avoid unwanted pregnancies. They turn because they cannot get to the right specialist, they have no one to consult with. Here came a young mother: after giving birth, she is on hormonal contraceptives, but she noticed that her hair began to fall out. In panic. It’s good that I can turn to you and you will never refuse. As a result, it turned out that the hormones that my colleague has been using for a long time do not suit her?

Elena Uvarova: Thank you for your kind words. I’m probably from a generation of doctors who just don’t know how to say no. Indeed, there are clearly not enough specialists in our profile so far. As for this particular case, yes, I managed to choose the most suitable drug for her age and body. But, I note, the problem with hair just was not associated with the use of hormonal contraceptives.

Hormones have been used since the middle of the last century. I remember that at one time I did an interview with a professor of gynecology and endocrinology, Irina Manuilova. It was published under the title “Hormones – the source of life.” But still somehow I can’t fully believe that they are such a “source”. Are they always the best method of contraception and one, as they say, of the most reliable abortion prevention?

Elena Uvarova: If we are discussing hormonal contraceptives, then modern pills are designed so as not to harm the health of healthy women, because they have more beneficial effects. Yes, in fact, this is the best alternative to an unwanted pregnancy, and even more so to an abortion. However, like any medicine, they have contraindications and side effects. In order to avoid them, you should carefully read the instructions for the drug or ask your gynecologist. This is the case when everything is very clearly and clearly spelled out in the instructions. Sometimes there is a situation when it seems that the drug has come up, and in the process of its use undesirable effects occur. In these cases, you should immediately consult a doctor. But in no case do not cancel the drug on your own. I specifically talk about this, because the abolition of hormones at will can lead to bleeding, which cannot always be quickly stopped.

Hormones are actively used during menopause by both women and men. Is it correct?

Elena Uvarova: A rare woman and a rare man can go through this period without surprises. Sometimes the so-called “hot flashes”, incomprehensible heat in the whole body, depressed mood, irascibility and anger torment for years. Violated performance, sleep, potency. There is no question of quality of life anymore.

And here you also offer hormones?

Elena Uvarova: Not the right word. I took hormones myself for 14 years. Moreover, my Ph.D. thesis is devoted to hormone replacement therapy in women of transitional age. Therefore, not only as a practicing gynecologist-endocrinologist, as a scientist, but also as a user of hormonal drugs, I can assure you that their timely and correct intake improves the quality of life, allows you to maintain working capacity and even attractiveness longer.

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Elena Vitalievna Uvarova was born in Moscow in the family of a physicist and geophysicist. She graduated from the medical faculty of the First Moscow Medical Institute named after Sechenov. PhD and doctoral dissertations are devoted to the problems of gynecology in women suffering from bleeding, uterine fibroids and endometriosis, as well as menopause.

From 1980 to this day he has been working at the Kulakov National Medical Research Center for Obstetrics, Gynecology and Perinatology. Since 1992 – Head of the Department of Gynecology of Children and Youth.

Author of 720 works. Since 2003 – chief specialist of the Russian Ministry of Health in pediatric gynecology. She is married and has a son and a 10-year-old granddaughter.

Rossiyskaya gazeta – Federal issue: No. 46(7509)

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