Children need to get their hands on a project, not a screen | Letters

2026-01-26 - 17:13

Georgi Kamov and Lisa Harms respond to an article about how screen time affects children and share their experiences in Bulgaria and the US Emine Saner’s article on screen time and toddlers identifies a key symptom, but doesn’t pay enough attention to the deeper diagnosis (How screen time affects toddlers: ‘We’re losing a big part of being human’, 22 January). The problem isn’t simply that children are watching screens. It’s that they’re not creating anything meaningful. For 11 years, Red Paper Plane has worked with more than 30,000 children in Bulgaria using a project-based learning programme we call Design Champions. As part of it, five- to 10-year-old children don’t consume content – they become park designers, car engineers and city architects. They work on “missions” lasting weeks, solving real problems with real materials. Continue reading...