Kids need to play outdoors

Summary

The website content discusses the importance of outdoor play for children over virtual gaming, emphasizing the health benefits of physical activity.

Abstract

The author shares an anecdote from a restaurant where they encountered a child who was more familiar with virtual games than outdoor sports, highlighting a societal shift towards indoor, screen-based activities. The article argues that true sports involve physical movement and should not be limited to playing virtual games on devices like PlayStation. It criticizes the trend of parents preferring to give children electronic devices to keep them occupied, rather than encouraging outdoor play which could benefit both children and adults. The article cites physical activity as crucial for children's health, referencing an external source that details benefits such as stronger bones, improved coordination, balance, and posture, healthy weight maintenance, immune system boost, and the prevention of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). The author concludes that excessive device usage is detrimental to both adults and children.

Opinions

The author believes that outdoor play and physical sports are essential for a child's development and health.
There is a critique of parents' choices to occupy children with electronic devices instead of engaging them in physical activities.
The article suggests that indoor gaming cannot be considered a sport because it lacks active bodily movement.
The author emphasizes the numerous health benefits of physical activity for children, including physical, mental, and immune system health.
The author advocates for a balance between screen time and physical play, implying that excessive screen time is harmful.

Sport doesn’t mean playing virtual games

I happened to be at the restaurant last week, ordering food for myself as we welcomed 2024. I saw a kid, 6–7 years old, running around the restaurant; between his running and me waiting at the restaurant, our eyes met at times, each time our faces widening.

What’s your name? I asked; he replied, which was followed by school and which grade, and finally, “You play any sport? He blurted out a name, which I had never heard before. “What game is it?” I asked.

“ You don’t know that game. It’s the most downloaded game on the PlayStation store. Go, check it,” he sneered at me. I realised he wasn’t even talking about any outdoor game that allows you to move your hands, arms, or limbs or makes you sweat.

How did this happen? I thought sport was an activity that allows you to move your body or some form of active movement. You can swim, play badminton, cricket, football, or whatever game you enjoy, but confining yourself to a room, holding a gaming console, pressing buttons, and staring at a screen is not a sport.

The virtual world has taken over the real world, and parents are taking the easier way of giving the kids Playstations or any device that keeps them engaged and quiet for a few hours.

They don’t want to take their kids out to a park or a playground, nudging them to play. Maybe, they can play with their kids, a little exercise would help them be healthy.

Physical activity has benefits for children, as an article puts it: strengthens their bones, improves their coordination, balance, and posture, helps them maintain a healthy weight, boosts their immune systems, and keeps Noncommunicable diseases (NCD) away.

Spending too much time with devices is neither good for adults nor kids is what needs to be understood.