Reconnecting Childhood

Reconnecting Childhood: Why Our Under 5's Desperately Need Us To Unplug

In a world where everything is louder, faster, and more digital, something quietly essential is being lost - human connection. I see it daily, and it pains me as an early years educator and advocate. Our youngest children, the under-fives, are growing up in a time where conversation has been replaced by convenience, presence by distraction, and eye contact by screen time. And they are suffering because of it.

The Disconnection Screen-Demic

For thousands of years, children have learned through relationships - by watching faces, hearing voices, engaging in shared laughter, and receiving consistent, loving responses from the adults around them. These small, everyday interactions are the building blocks of a child’s emotional regulation, language development, and self-worth.

But today, we’re witnessing a sharp decline in those critical connections. Children are losing out on hearing over a thousand words a day, not because they’ve forgotten how to listen - but because adults have stopped talking to them.

Whether it’s phones at the dinner table, tablets in the pram, or a TV on in the background all day, technology has filled the space where rich, relational moments used to live.

Words Are More Than Just Language

When we speak to children, we’re not just teaching vocabulary - we’re showing them how to be in the world. Eye contact, intonation, facial expressions, pauses, giggles, storytelling - all of it helps children understand the rhythm and richness of communication. They learn empathy through shared emotions. They learn resilience through patient explanations. They learn confidence by being seen and heard.

Without this connection, we’re not just facing a delay in language development; we’re risking a delay in emotional and social maturity. When we plug children in to keep them quiet, we’re robbing them of the very interactions they need to thrive.

The Mienna Jones Ethos: Love, Time, and Presence

In my 34 years working in early childhood education, I have never doubted one truth: children thrive on love, time, and presence. Not gadgets. Not clever apps. Not endless entertainment. But people - real, emotionally available people who delight in their presence, respond to their cues, and speak to them like they matter.

The foundation of my ethos is simple yet powerful:

• Meet children where they are.

• Respond with love, not expectation.

• Nurture development through real-world experiences, not digital ones.

• Slow down. Go outside. Be together.

Connection isn’t about doing more - it’s about doing less, more intentionally. It’s choosing to pause the podcast, put down the phone, and tune in to the child in front of you. It’s reading one more story, answering one more “why?”, and remembering that every “look at me!” matters deeply.

How We Rebuild Connection

This isn’t about shame or blame. It’s about awareness and intention. We’re all navigating this digital world together, and it’s hard. But we can start reconnecting childhood one small decision at a time.

I'm Co-Founder of the Unplugged Early Years Movement. This week is World Wellbeing Week and we shared these top tips:

1. Unplug Together - Create a daily screen-free hour where the whole family puts down devices and reconnects - read, play, cook or walk together.

2. Check In with Each Other - Make space each day to ask, “How are you feeling today?” Encourage open, honest conversations between adults and children.

3. Start a Family Kindness Jar - Each person adds kind words, compliments, or notes of gratitude into a jar. Read them together at the end of the week.

4. Prioritise Shared Mealtimes - Sit down and eat as a family without distractions. These simple moments are powerful for connection and routine.

5. Protect Sleep & Wind-Down Time - Create calming evening routines - bath, books, cuddles - and reduce screen exposure before bedtime for everyone.

6. Get Outside Daily - Fresh air and green space support mental health for all ages. Even 20 minutes of nature time can lift the mood.

7. Say “Thank You” More - Model appreciation in the home. Acknowledging each other’s efforts helps build positive emotional culture in families.

A Call to Slow Down

Unplugging isn’t about rejecting the modern world - it’s about choosing the human one first. Our under-fives don’t need a high-tech childhood. They need us. They need our voices, our hands, our stories, our warmth. They need a connected, responsive adult to help them feel safe, seen, and significant.

Let’s return to the basics: talking, listening, playing, being.

Because in those quiet, connected moments, we are giving children the most important thing of all - not data, not noise, not distraction - but relationship. And from there, everything grows.

Final Thoughts

Reconnection is not a luxury - it’s a necessity. In a world that’s speeding up, our children need us to slow down. They need our attention, our presence, and our willingness to unplug from distraction and plug into them.

Let’s choose connection over convenience. Let’s create childhoods filled with eye contact, laughter, storytelling, and warmth. Not just for their development—but for their deep sense of belonging and joy.

Because in the end, the greatest gift we can give our children is ourselves.

Mienna Jones, Championing Childhood

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