All You Need To Know About Raising A Gen Alpha Child
The truly 21st century born generation, Gen Alpha, is going to change the world like never before. Right now, they are at most 10 years old, but already they are having a great impact on the education field, consumer field, and technology. Most Gen Alphas come from a single child family as their parents, the Millennials are facing hurdles in starting a family life. From an early age, this generation is immersed in technology and is the most globally connected generation right now. They are more open to diversity in all fields and very vocal about environmental issues. Hence, if you are looking to start childcare in Duarte, CA, it is especially important that you know more about this generation as your school will be catering to this generation in the coming years.
The key characteristic of the Gen Alpha children
The main characteristic of Gen Alpha is going to be that they are born into the digital world. They will have little difference between what real play and digital play is. Their world belongs to content creators and not passive consumers; hence they are going to be more into teamwork and collaboration. The COVID pandemic will have a great effect on their growth; they are seeing firsthand that the age-old system of doing things can change overnight. Hence, they won’t take “no” for an answer and will find ways to overcome any obstacle that comes their way.
The educational needs of Gen Alpha children
Naturally, the education need of Gen Alpha is going to be different from their previous generation, even Gen Z who are mostly siblings to them. Tech and media literacy has to be learned no matter how immersed this generation is in technology. They are going to start their education earlier; and since their technology will be voice-driven and AI-driven, many of their tasks don’t need to be written or read. They will also be into collaborative learning as this generation learns to work with others (often with children in other countries) through virtual play. Thanks to the pandemic, “virtual classes” have already started for Gen Alpha preschoolers who started going to school last year. This is going to become more common even after the restrictions due to the pandemic go away. This generation is predicted to be the most educated, almost 90% of them will finish high school compared to 80% now and then a majority of them will go for higher education in some form.
The healthcare needs of Gen Alpha children
Outdoor play or unstructured play is not something that is spontaneous is Gen Alpha; this ongoing pandemic has increased this. Getting this generation to play outside is often a challenge to their millennial parents, but it is a necessity as it will affect their physical development. As for playing with toys, they need to be fun and educational that will help them to develop strength and coordination, interest in S.T.E.M., entrepreneurial skills, financial literacy, resourcefulness, and innovation. Mental health is going to be a big factor while bringing up a Gen Alpha as this generation will lack in-person communication and will prefer virtual visits over actual communication with another person. Hence the main focus, especially when they are in childcare Duarte, CA institutes, should be on encouraging them to connect with their peers, encourage creative thinking, and developing their emotional intelligence. This generation will have no problem talking about their mental health as from an early age, their parents will look into their mental well-being without attaching any stigma to it. A good side of this digital age is going to be that they will be less affected by digital bullying than their previous generation.
The influence of Gen Alpha children
Already, the influence of Gen Alpha regarding the purchasing power of their parents has crossed $500 billion in the USA and this impact is going to become more as they grow up. Most Gen Alpha have their own digital device by the age of 6 and some even learn to purchase things digitally at the age of 10! As they start using their smart devices for their purchase purpose, they are going to demand new innovative ways of commercial activity like AR/VR commerce, live stream, voice-driven, and social media-driven. Tech companies have already started developing such products and platforms foreshadowing how this generation is going to change the fields of education, commerce, and technology.
