The pandemic of children’s attention deficit spectrum and emotional disorders appears linked to precocious challenges in childhood development.
Regarding Naomi Schaefer Riley’s “Teach Your Children Well: Unhook Them From Technology” (Cross Country, Jan. 2): Having attended the Rudolf Steiner School in New York City from kindergarten through 12th grade, and now a family-practice physician for over 30 years, I’ve witnessed the effect of Waldorf education on thousands of students.
It might seem counterintuitive to eschew the temptation to give children an educational advantage by ever earlier exposure to infant screen time, reading instruction and virtual-world indoctrination, and instead allow the delicate developing neurological system to gently grow into appreciation of real-world colors, forces and textures, thus recapitulating our natural human evolution before gradually integrating the fast-paced media world of modern electronics and flashing screens. The growing pandemic of children’s attention-deficit spectrum and anxiety-disorder syndromes appears suspiciously linked to precocious challenges in childhood development. My observations indicate that, in general, Waldorf-schooled individuals are protected from adverse influences while being adjunctively enabled to navigate the challenge of maturing into able adults. My college-bound 18-year-old son is a national champion model-airplane builder and radio-controlled aerobatic pilot.
John Takacs, D.O.
Portland, Ore.
