How do we get children off their smartphones? Give them chickens, of course. At least that is the idea of Oded M. Danial, the mayor of Bandung, West Java. The policy, which he has named “chickenization”, is not aimed simply at weaning kids off their smartphones but also making them more responsible.

The policy involves handing out free 2,000 day-old chicks to students of two elementary and 10 junior high schools in Cibiru and Gedebage districts, Bandung.

The symbolic handover of the birds took place on Thursday to Nazril Muhammad Ibrahim, 11, a fifth grader at Cempaka Arum elementary school and to Rabil, 13, a student of SMP 54 state junior high school in Bandung.

“Chickenization is not simply aimed at getting kids away from their gadgets. It is part of the government's national program called the mental revolution,” Oded said.

By giving the students the chickens to breed, it would teach them how to care for animals and they would develop discipline through feeding the chickens before going to school and after school.

For the trial phase, Oded received the 2,000 birds through local lender BJB Bank's corporate social responsibility (CSR) program. The program could also develop entrepreneurial skills among the students. If they are successful in breeding the chickens, they can enjoy the economic value of the activity.

Nazril said he was enthusiastic about nurturing and breeding the chicks. “It’s not off-putting because the chicken is still small.”

Another student, Fajrian Adam, 13, of SMP 46 state junior high school in Bandung said he had previously bred chickens in his home village in Garut, West Java, and knew how to prepare and clean the cages. “Our teachers also told us to monitor the development of the chickens by periodically measuring them,” he said.

Suhartini, his teacher, said students were instructed how to breed chickens and teachers monitored the students’ interest before distributing the chickens to them. She said each student received one chick. They were grouped to share duties such as cleaning the cages and feeding the chickens. They were also obliged to write reports on the development of their chickens.

Bandung Agriculture and Food Security Agency head Gingin Ginanjar said his office cooperated with the city education agency in conducting the program. In this case, he said, his team had prepared technical matters, while the education agency drew up the program. “The learning process will be conducted in groups, from the cage making to the chicken nurturing.”

Previously, Oded said the chicken distribution was part of his bid to deal with students’ addiction to gadgets, although later he said the program was a realization of a more general program, which is the mental revolution.

Over 90 children aged between 5 and 12 years in the region suffer from mental health problems, according to data from community health centers across Bandung.

Bandung Health Agency mental health program manager Endang Pregiwati Ningsih said the data on mental health problems was still general. “Basically the kids have experienced behavioral and mental disorders but we have yet to get the specific data regarding what they have experienced,” she said.

Clinical psychologist Dwi Edrianti of the Bandung Mother and Children’s Hospital said gadget addiction could have negative effects on children’s development, including heightened levels of aggression. “They [gadget addicts] do not want to be banned [from using their devices] and become disruptive, through physical violence or throwing themselves onto the floor,” Dwi said.

Popular

Is Indonesia really ready to embrace dual citizenship?

Tens of thousands seek better lives in Jakarta. But is the city losing its draw?

Elon Musk's Starlink granted licences to operate in Indonesia