Keeping Generation Z kids busy

Krugersdorp — Mid-year school holidays are almost over and although it means rest for learners, parents have no clear idea on how to keep them productively busy.

Generation Z (people born between 1996 and 2011) mostly comprise primary and high school children, or young adults entering the workplace. There is a lot of focus on this large group currently on school holiday and many parents are battling to understand them.

Generation Z kids have been around for less than 21 years, but they already have a reputation for being fearless, digitally-obsessed trend slaves (image and socially) and are said to have an attention span of eight seconds!

So what can a parent do to keep such a youngster productive at home?

If your child loves reading, then he is special because this generation hates reading; they would rather scroll through their technological gadgets, so challenge him to write online blogs or articles.

Teenagers have been digitally influenced from an early age and do not know life without technology, so if your children are good at art or drawing or love cartoons and memes, you can set them the task of doing a free online course in graphics.

If your child loves music, you can download musical software, or a trial, at no cost, from www.fruityloops.com/free-download to see if it interests her or if she learns from it.

If your child is into sports, you can download exercise videos from www.kurbo.com/kids-exercises. If you often have delicious meals prepared by your young foodies, download recipe applications for them to try. If your child is well-spoken, try audio motivational books by visiting www.learnoutloud.com/self-development. If your child is the next Gert-Johan Coetzee, then download a fashion or clothing design application, such as www.edrawsoft.com/fashion-design-beginner, organise a hard copy or online sketch book and encourage them to design their own creations.

Have fun, and diarise their progress throughout the holidays.