Remembering Childhood & Reconnecting With The Child In Me
i don't see kids playing games like hopscotch, skipping ropes, hide and seek and other fun filled activities outdoors or with friends anymore. Do you?
Oh!,what joy it was to play for hours without a care.i sometimes yearn for that carefree moments spent with friends from the neighbourhood.How we could just invite a newcomer to join without a second thought....
i did a survey among my teen students, nephews and nieces, friends' kids on why they no longer played such outdoor games. Some were totally clueless about the games i mentioned above. Most said their parents don't allow them out for safety reasons and mixing with 'strangers' aka neighbours. Half of them looked at me as if i was from the stone age and said why go out and sweat when games of all manner can be found at their fingertips via modern technology. Needless to say i came away stumped and sad.
No amount of cajoling can bring them out of the stupor of what modernity and technology have wired into their heads!...sigh.
Why was i remembering these childhood games?. Well, it was a pleasant suprise to know that a group of people in a small town are making efforts to reintroduce such simple yet fun games to the children of today.i was also happy to know that the kids showed enthusiasm to learn and participate in the games such as kite flying, playing marbles and many more. A big hurrah for the revival of such joyful outdoor games.
If you asked me if i would play hopscotch now, the answer would be an excited 'YES'!. The child in me will surely rise to the thrill of hopping on one leg in squares and winning. Worries would fly and bad times forgotten...for awhile. My fondest childhood memories were definitely the outdoor games and reconnecting with the child in me helps to lift my spirits in a way that i cannot describe.
How easily a baby smiles and plays with abandon. Angry words and a scolding forgotten the second a new game is played or a song is sung. Go ahead and play with a toddler and laugh till tears trickle down. Be a child and immerse yourself in making mud cakes from wet sand!. Feel the magic and be awed by simple joys.
In the humdrum of daily obligatory activities and adult responsibilities, it is refreshing and rejuvenating to remember childhood and be a child again every once in awhile, don't you think?
Give it a try and you won't regret it.
p/s: i just bought my second box of crayons to draw colorful snails and butterflies and i am eyeing a neon coloured hula-hoop!
Oh!,what joy it was to play for hours without a care.i sometimes yearn for that carefree moments spent with friends from the neighbourhood.How we could just invite a newcomer to join without a second thought....
i did a survey among my teen students, nephews and nieces, friends' kids on why they no longer played such outdoor games. Some were totally clueless about the games i mentioned above. Most said their parents don't allow them out for safety reasons and mixing with 'strangers' aka neighbours. Half of them looked at me as if i was from the stone age and said why go out and sweat when games of all manner can be found at their fingertips via modern technology. Needless to say i came away stumped and sad.
No amount of cajoling can bring them out of the stupor of what modernity and technology have wired into their heads!...sigh.
Why was i remembering these childhood games?. Well, it was a pleasant suprise to know that a group of people in a small town are making efforts to reintroduce such simple yet fun games to the children of today.i was also happy to know that the kids showed enthusiasm to learn and participate in the games such as kite flying, playing marbles and many more. A big hurrah for the revival of such joyful outdoor games.
If you asked me if i would play hopscotch now, the answer would be an excited 'YES'!. The child in me will surely rise to the thrill of hopping on one leg in squares and winning. Worries would fly and bad times forgotten...for awhile. My fondest childhood memories were definitely the outdoor games and reconnecting with the child in me helps to lift my spirits in a way that i cannot describe.
How easily a baby smiles and plays with abandon. Angry words and a scolding forgotten the second a new game is played or a song is sung. Go ahead and play with a toddler and laugh till tears trickle down. Be a child and immerse yourself in making mud cakes from wet sand!. Feel the magic and be awed by simple joys.
In the humdrum of daily obligatory activities and adult responsibilities, it is refreshing and rejuvenating to remember childhood and be a child again every once in awhile, don't you think?
Give it a try and you won't regret it.
p/s: i just bought my second box of crayons to draw colorful snails and butterflies and i am eyeing a neon coloured hula-hoop!
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