Let’s go out and play!

When I was younger, it was a struggle to get me back into the house once I was playing outside. We were lucky enough to have a large compound and garden in which to play and get up to all sorts of mischief, trees to climb and swing on (even though there was a proper swing too), shrubs to hide behind, and a natural cedar hedge which we once set on fire! True we were a lot more adventurous than the kids today with our outdoor experiences but I would still argue that it was a better way to be. We explored more, had more vivid imaginations and ultimately nurtured better social skills because we interacted closely and often with other children and at a more personal level than that which kids today playing video games, however interactive, ever get to exercise. Nowadays there are less and less parents who say “go out and play” and rather more that are likely to say “go to your room” and “do your homework”. Even a five year old comes home with ‘homework’! Perhaps I am old fashioned but is homework for a five year old really necessary? This is something that may take half an hour out of a child’s playtime; which is valuable family bonding time in my humble opinion. As a working mom - and nowadays most moms do work full-time - time when all family members are free to spend time together is precious. The older children and adults have relatively fixed schedules and it seems to me to keep a five year old busy with schoolwork even in the ‘out of school’ hours is really pushing it. When will our children find a strange insect in the shrubs, explore an anthill, climb trees or even burn the hedges? All of this new technology and media by the internet is good but it is causing our children to be less adventurous and lacking in imagination. Their imaginations are limited to a virtual world and they acquire little if any skills for social interaction. As a matter of fact we parents are also guilty as charged. Playing outside is not being encouraged enough. Parents have a busy lifestyle, both parents work and send kids to day care or get a nanny or babysitter to look after the kids or send them off to various clubs and lessons. Then when they get home they feed them and either let them watch TV or go on the internet or get them to do their homework and then everybody goes to sleep. The kids who still get to play outdoors a lot are those identified as coming from the poorer neighbourhoods. ‘Poorer” because they get to go out and play. Because they cannot afford video games and laptops or a schedule busier than that at the magistrates court where their young lives are meticulously planned and ordered for them into time slots of football club, swimming lessons, dancing lessons, singing lessons, acting lessons, horse riding, piano lessons, etc. Unfortunately on the flip side these clubs and lessons are the only channel for social interaction out of school. When will the children let their imaginations flow? When can they let their skills flow towards natural inclinations? How will we know our children if we guide and schedule every moment. Let the children play…