rickets

Scary-looking new evidence was produced on the front page of The Metro yesterday that blamed the rise of child rickets on video games and social networking sites. According to the report 100 cases of child rickets reported in the UK each year.

The report is keen to stress that kids playing more video games is the cause of rickets while totally fails to acknowledge that years of nanny-statism has prevented kids from playing outdoors. Only last year the BBC ran any number of scare stories about the risks of exposure to the sun. This kind of reporting isn't new; the BBC has stories from as far back as 2000 and 1998 warning of the dangers of exposing your skin to the sun. Is it any wonder that, coupled with the increased reporting of the paedophile threat, that parents try to keep their kids indoors more than they used to?

Is it any wonder then that children, prevented from playing outside, look to other forms of entertainment? Video games, social networking sites, computers, allow them to form or maintain the relationships with their friends that they would have done in the street. If they were allowed out in the sun that is. Video games are not the cause of rickets.