Notes

How an Aussie Dad Refused to Keep his Kids from Spending Hours on the Computer

A dad managed to get his children off their screens and spend time outside cleaning up parks and beaches in a move that "immediately led to them becoming more active and engaged'.



Jon Owen, 47-year-old father of Sydney, got the idea while watching a nature documentary together with his children Molly 10 and Eve 8.



He started by taking his kids along with their friends to the beach, where they would do different projects.



One day the kids went to Bondi and picked up trash at the basketball courts.



'They got so excited, it became fierce, with the goal of seeing who could win the most and they had a blast,' Mr Owen told Daily Mail Australia.



Mr. Owen said his kids, Eve, 8, (pictured in the left-hand corner at Bondi basketball courts) and Molly, 10, (pictured, second from right) are'so excited and competitive' about the projects he handed them.



The app takes kids on real-world challenges, including gardening and making worm farms, frog hotels and bird boxes



Two-time dad said he saw the difference in his children 'instantly when he started giving them mini-projects.



Mr Owen also gave the kids tasks like making a meal out of leftovers, and creating crafts with old clothes.



He noticed positive changes in his children "absolutely instantly" with the added benefit of educating children about the importance of responsibility and making them environmentally aware in a fun way.



Jon Owen (pictured) said that he would like to provide children with an enjoyable way to learn how to live sustainably.



Mr Owen decided to invest in ensuring that primary school children in Australia have the same experience.



He co-founded Genus which was a start-up in the field of technology which developed an app that 'enables' children to take on real-world adventures and acquire life skills.



The Genus app has been tested in 40 schools across Australia. It can be used as a way to provide a platform for students to begin environmental projects.



Some of these include building Frog hotels, worm farms and bird boxes, as well as doing arts and crafts, with the app showing how to do it.



Once the 'mission' is completed, the participants upload their images to the app prior to moving on to the next stage.



Mr Owen conceived the app as an environmental and educational solution to the games that kids are engrossed in, such as Minecraft and Fortnite.



It also provides word searches, as well as quizzes based on environmental themes. There are also games where students can make use of math to calculate the amount of soft material they can save from landfill.



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Mr Owen said it's all about bringing kids on a journey of fun with a tangible benefit.



"Saving the Earth has always been seen as hard and boring... Genus is making sustainability a fun activity for children,' Mr Owen stated.



Owen acknowledges that children today are being raised in the digital age. However, it is crucial to maintain a healthy balance that allows kids to be active and get dirty.



Schools can utilize the app for free, but it will be charged to students starting in 2023 at two dollars per year.
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Genus's aim is to use technology to solve real-world issues and plans to crowdfund the idea to further build the application.


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