These days we are literally drowning in technology. From the kids glued to games, to moms thumb-flicking on the Blackberry, most of us can barely go an hour without staring at a screen of some kind. But one family had enough, and decided to take action—radical action: an entire year living without mod cons.
In fact, stepping into Blair McMillan's home is akin to time travel, where the year, to be precise, is 1986. The 26-year-old stay-at-home dad from Guelph cracked when his son Trey, 5, refused to go outside on a beautiful day, insisting he play on his tablet.
According to an article in Today Moms, McMillan and his girlfriend, Morgan Patey, decided to go back to the good old days, re-living the year in which they were both born.
“We packed up our computers, tablets, cell phones, flat screen TVs and so on and put them into storage,” said McMillan. “Instead we bought an old wooden TV, a radio, a rotary phone and a Nintendo!”
Funny enough, their two sons adapted easily without the technology; it was their parents who struggled to make do without any post-1986 gadgets. But the payoff has been worth it. The family now spends more time together, walking their dog or playing in the park. All well and good, but what happens when that long Canadian winter hits? Stockpile those VHS...
“As parents, we communicate more and have become way more hands on,” said McMillan. "What’s funny is that the simplest things are now the things that entertain Trey the most. He loves to go outside and pull weeds with me or turn over rocks and find bugs.”
Of course it's not all roses. McMillan admits that his young sons do argue more since they play together more, which entails more sharing.
“The road trip we recently took to Minneapolis was the worst,” said McMillan. “It would have been a lot easier to hand them a DVD player when they were both screaming about sharing stickers in the back seat of the car.”
While the McMillan example—and this camp—may be extreme examples, they highlight the need and benefit to cut back on technology. I've heard of families going wireless for the weekend, which seems a more reasonable and realistic feat.
Health Canada has recalled magnetic sets by Nano Magnetics Ltd. with the following model numbers (UPC):
The magnet sets pose a danger to children, as they can be ingested, causing a potential blockage or perforation in the intestinal tract. Swallowing such magnets can be serious, even fatal.
Customers are advised to stop using the recalled sets and contact their municipality for instructions on how to dispose of the magnets.
From July 2010 to July 2013, approximately 190,000 recalled Nanodots magnet sets were sold in Canada.
So Canada may not have bagged the number-one spot but it placed sixth in the United Nations' latest ranking of happiest countries. The well-being report measures such factors as life expectancy and corruption to determine the overall happiness of a nation's citizens.
Again, the Netherlands hogged the top spots, with Switzerland jumping into the top five this year. According to an article in the Globe and Mail, Denmark ranked supreme, followed by Norway.
In the five years since the UN last published its report, well-being is on the up, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, typically trouble spots.
"Life is getting better in unsung ways in many places—enough so that the world is slowly becoming a happier place," said UBC professor of economics and co-author of paper on global happiness, John Helliwell.
Six factors were used to grade the overall well-being of 130 countries: "per capita GDP, life expectancy, having someone to count on, freedom to make life choices, generosity and freedom from corruption."
The improvements reflected in 60 of the studied countries were credited with governments and policy-makers taking a more direct interest in the well-being of their citizens.
Though the happiness factor has plummeted in the U.S. and many industrialized countries, it has stayed more or less the same in Canada. Something to be proud of...
What do you think makes Canadians such a happy bunch? Spill it.
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