Society is constantly changing, isn't it? There was a time, for most of history, when women didn't work outside of their housework, which, to be fair, can be a full-time job in itself.
The evolution of society has been accelerating ever since consumerism surfaced during the 1950’s, when every home had to have a phone, an electric jug instead of a kettle, a refrigerator instead of a cold safe, a cooker instead of a wood or coal-fired range and oven; and most families went from using buses, to having cars of their own. Televisions replaced radios, microwaves replaced cookers and then along came computers, which evolved to desktops, laptops, tablets and eventually the sophisticated mobile phones of today and at thousands of dollars for every new iteration, we just must have the best!
Consumerism was a catchphrase coined by a Ford Motor Company executive, John Bugas, during the 50’s who felt it would be more palatable to ‘Middle America,’ than the exploitative aspects of capitalism, which, in a time of Communist resurgence, was not to be trusted.
National prosperity, higher wages and more forceful television advertising, all played their parts in driving consumerism and suddenly everybody had everything and what we have today is a perpetual hamster-wheel need to have better, bigger, faster and we have become... insatiable.
Unfortunately, there is a price to pay for having that nice big new house, that ‘flash’ car on the driveway, a 65” TV in the lounge, computers of some description in every room, the latest I-phones, a wardrobe full of ‘labelled’ gear, gym memberships, season tickets, fake tans and goodness knows what else... But there’s something missing isn’t there? Oh, I know. It’s the kids, those ‘ankle biters,’ yet we must take more than a minute to consider how their lives have changed.
For a start, most kids today have never known any real deprivation, any want or need, in the same way as those from earlier generations. As today’s parents bury them in kids wear and accessories that reflect their own self-image, unnecessarily, we must reflect that if the kiddie is well-dressed, appropriately attired and kept healthy, safe, clean, well-fed, getting enough sleep and is loved, their basic needs are being met. They don’t need the bling! However, if we dig a wee bit deeper into their social needs, the kids need sensory stimulation and here is where today, the future, reality, theory and practice all come together in truly accelerating the child’s potential.
As parents and grandparents, we can accelerate their stimulation through the five basic senses of sight, where we can fill their world with colour. We can develop their auditory experiences, initially through the likes of animal sounds. We must help them discover their olfactory experiences through food and flower fragrances. Taste is, of course, all about foods and their palate’s likes and dislikes, while the texture of different surfaces and cloths etc, is what touch is all about.
Colouring and activity books, interactive toys and reading books are the simple, common pathways to sensory enrichment, which are never wasted and the value of parental interaction should never be underestimated. If you are reading a story, you can answer questions, both about the story and their ability to be inspired by it. You, with them, will experience the sensations of interactive books. These moments, these experiences, take a moment... but last a lifetime.
Then there is the often-neglected triumvirate of sensory development, essential to teenage development, of the awareness of interoception, the sense of how and why one’s body behaves in a particular way, proprioception, being the way one’s limbs and muscles work in a ‘walk and chew gum’ fashion, vestibular movement can have a significant effect upon balance, posture and coordination. In learning to swim, visits to farms, playground and walks in the country, you can, freely, enrich your kid’s lives and your own.
You wouldn’t want to miss those, would you? In fact, you should make the most of those moments... most of which, only take your time.
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
