The plodding beat on “Wooden Toy” is a little reminiscent of a carnival song, distorted and spookified into a lightly ominous ambient backdrop for whatever else you’re doing on this lovely Halloween.
We’ve created a monster
October 31, 2018
All very Doctor Frankenstein
This just in from the New York Times: Silicon Valley parents have unilaterally decided that screen time is the devil. For their children, that is. The parents, occupied with tech-based day jobs, can’t keep away from screens themselves, so they’re hiring nannies instead to spend no-screen time with their children. That would be enough of a story, but the most zealous families are also implementing no-tech contracts with their caregivers, which has unleashed this weird flock of vigilantes spying on nannies in parks to catch them in the act of texting (a violation of the no-screen clause). I’d say we’ve created a monster, but I think it’s actually several.
The next monster
So now we know how it is for the rich kids, but what about everybody else? In a second powerfully sad Times piece this week, we learn that, as screen time emerges as ‘bad,’ poorer kids spend much more time with screens than their more privileged peers. Underfunded schools rely more on technology, which, outside the classroom, is also a great distraction in lieu of childcare, while the hippest wave of private schools instills the importance of throwback play featuring wooden toys and— crazy— face-to-face hanging out. Remember when we were all writing grants for more tablets?
Ok so wood toys
In looking for wooden children’s toys to blast, I found this puzzle that I will instead endorse. This kid thing is also 100% a piece of adult art. It’s also priced as such, but that’s what you expected, right?