Traditional Childhood Activities Disappearing As Youngsters Choosing Technologies: Experts

Traditional childhood activities are in danger of disappearing as youngsters are choosing to stay inside and play computer games rather than take part in outdoor activities, experts said

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Feb, 2018 ) :Traditional childhood activities are in danger of disappearing as youngsters are choosing to stay inside and play computer games rather than take part in outdoor activities, experts said.

Dr Shamsa Awan A clinical psychologist talking to private news channel said , these days, children have a whole new understanding of what fun and games are. It's all about online games, from Playstations to watching too much tv and spending hours on their iPads.

Playing in streets and climbing trees were also among the pastimes that a large number of modern youngsters had never tried. Expert believe the lack of outdoor activity is having a significant impact on children's health, with exercise low in their priorities.

Lack of outdoor play could be affecting their education about nature, as they spend less time growing plants and spotting wildlife. Another child specialist Nadeem Basit said, 'nowadays, children have much more to keep them amused computers, a host of TV channels and smartphones something older generations didn't have.

As a result, youngsters are missing out on getting dirty in the mud and puddles or simply spending time in the fresh air, he added. 'These traditional activities can be a great way of encouraging children to spend more time outdoors, get more exercise and create more memories than they will get from simply sitting in front of a computer or TV screen,' experts says.

Traditional games have rich cultural values and has a lot of importance. All the traditional games helps a child to develop the skills like coordination, concentration, logical thinking, improving memory power, mathematical skills and more, they added.

Expert further said nowadays, there are security concerns also in major cities. The parents generally don't prefer to allow their children to go outdoor for playing with unknown children of the neighborhood, some of them are likely to be bullying types also.

Shortage of time due to hectic school schedule is also a contributory factor, Specialist said. Traditional games are indeed disappearing from our lives, kids in the small villages may be playing them but not all the kids in the cities and small towns, are so lucky, adding, these games like kabadi, ko.ko and Gilli danda are good for the kids physical and mental development.

Dr Shamsa said even I grew up playing some of these games, we used to have a very active and happy childhood, we used to fall sick less often, we were so fit and healthy and everybody were just close friends.But those days are gone and several factors led to the decline of our traditional games.