Friends ,
This is my first blog and believe me , I am not at all a well versed reader neither a follower of blogs.
Trust you will all help me in my journey of blogging !
Well , this all started with a fine summer evening when a school friend of mine - Sushant bumped into me after a long time. We had not met for a good 2 years and decided to sit somewhere and sip on a cuppa to catch up on old times.
As the conversation progressed , I realized that his son - Vrushan had finished his school term for 1st standard and his summer vacation had started.
My friend was very keen to get Vrushan engaged in some form of activity since he (Vrushan) was getting quite bored at home.
Sushant had checked out quite a few music schools, guitar classes,swimming lessons ,chess tutors but somehow he found that none of these had interested Vrushan. Sushant was a bit worried !
The above discussions led me to our childhood memories when I remembered the times of our summer vacations . During those days , parents were not really so bothered about what will their children do after they finish their school term. In fact, they had no reason to be bothered.
Each day used to start with the morning routine chores and then a rapid search would start for the box of marbles or the gilli-danda or the cricket bat or the rubber ball .Finding any of these used to set us going and then there was no trace of us till lunch time when our mom or our sisters would come calling for us to have our mid day meals ! Well ,there were no cell phones to give a missed call or send an SMS !
Believe me , we were never tired. The eating of food used to be just a means of satisfying the parents -specifically our mom but the whole mind and attention was towards the other kids on ground wanting us back . After lunch the routine was no different as it was before lunch and back there were WE with our bellies full.
The rains or the summers ( there is hardly any winter effect in Mumbai) hardly mattered. At times, there used to be short lived phases of the kite flying season or the occassional bow and arrow feuds and fights after watching the epics - Ramayana and Mahabharata.
During weekends there used to be many guests at home - the aunts and the uncles, but the kids never used to be at home .All the kids would run to the ground with the usual hulla-bulla and play,fight & make merry .
Take a pause ! Do we see any of the above now . Atleast I dont !
When I see kids of the current generation , we find most of them so well behaved and mannered which is respectable.
The thing that intrigues me is all these kids are very well versed with all the latest games in the latest mobile phones or tablets or a gizmo.
Each kid has atleast 1 gadget and he ( also applies to she ) is so well accustomed to using it remarkably perfect , which ,to me ,would atleast take days to use it in the right way.
.Each one has a Facebook account ( their own or their parents's) and quite used to the social networking lingo's.
The sad part is all these kids are tied to their home .
They hardly play outdoor games .They don't come down .They have fixed time slots to play . Their activity during the vacation period needs to be planned by the parents ( who are most of the times so busy - dreaded with their own work).
Come on , guys give them a break. Let them enjoy.
The digital world will very much be available to them once they pass out of high school or college. But let them play - the real games on the ground . Don't make them sit at home and become a digital kid .
Tell them to make their parents proud by scoring 50 runs in an outdoor game of cricket and not by scoring a million points in a Subway Surfer game or a Car racing game .
Ciao.
This is my first blog and believe me , I am not at all a well versed reader neither a follower of blogs.
Trust you will all help me in my journey of blogging !
Well , this all started with a fine summer evening when a school friend of mine - Sushant bumped into me after a long time. We had not met for a good 2 years and decided to sit somewhere and sip on a cuppa to catch up on old times.
As the conversation progressed , I realized that his son - Vrushan had finished his school term for 1st standard and his summer vacation had started.
My friend was very keen to get Vrushan engaged in some form of activity since he (Vrushan) was getting quite bored at home.
Sushant had checked out quite a few music schools, guitar classes,swimming lessons ,chess tutors but somehow he found that none of these had interested Vrushan. Sushant was a bit worried !
The above discussions led me to our childhood memories when I remembered the times of our summer vacations . During those days , parents were not really so bothered about what will their children do after they finish their school term. In fact, they had no reason to be bothered.
Each day used to start with the morning routine chores and then a rapid search would start for the box of marbles or the gilli-danda or the cricket bat or the rubber ball .Finding any of these used to set us going and then there was no trace of us till lunch time when our mom or our sisters would come calling for us to have our mid day meals ! Well ,there were no cell phones to give a missed call or send an SMS !
Believe me , we were never tired. The eating of food used to be just a means of satisfying the parents -specifically our mom but the whole mind and attention was towards the other kids on ground wanting us back . After lunch the routine was no different as it was before lunch and back there were WE with our bellies full.
The rains or the summers ( there is hardly any winter effect in Mumbai) hardly mattered. At times, there used to be short lived phases of the kite flying season or the occassional bow and arrow feuds and fights after watching the epics - Ramayana and Mahabharata.
During weekends there used to be many guests at home - the aunts and the uncles, but the kids never used to be at home .All the kids would run to the ground with the usual hulla-bulla and play,fight & make merry .
Take a pause ! Do we see any of the above now . Atleast I dont !
When I see kids of the current generation , we find most of them so well behaved and mannered which is respectable.
The thing that intrigues me is all these kids are very well versed with all the latest games in the latest mobile phones or tablets or a gizmo.
Each kid has atleast 1 gadget and he ( also applies to she ) is so well accustomed to using it remarkably perfect , which ,to me ,would atleast take days to use it in the right way.
.Each one has a Facebook account ( their own or their parents's) and quite used to the social networking lingo's.
The sad part is all these kids are tied to their home .
They hardly play outdoor games .They don't come down .They have fixed time slots to play . Their activity during the vacation period needs to be planned by the parents ( who are most of the times so busy - dreaded with their own work).
Come on , guys give them a break. Let them enjoy.
The digital world will very much be available to them once they pass out of high school or college. But let them play - the real games on the ground . Don't make them sit at home and become a digital kid .
Tell them to make their parents proud by scoring 50 runs in an outdoor game of cricket and not by scoring a million points in a Subway Surfer game or a Car racing game .
Ciao.
20 comments:
Very well said Deepak..it is perhaps the 'curse' in a way for this generation..they get exposed to technology at a very young age and also that they adapt very well..but do they have enough open spaces to play..it is upto the schools, the family and society in general..to ensure that their childhood isn't lost.
That said, I have some faith & hope that this generation and the ones to come will experience childhood like we used to..
Nice article buddy..keep writing
Me too ;is perfectly of the same opinion. I send my kids to play out even during exam days. When one of his classmates mom came to know of this; her reaction towards me was no better than 'Qasab'.! Yet, I remained firm; give my kids their childhood; the rightful gift. so what if it is at a cost of few marks.
Hi Deepak.. how how how very true... seeing children enjoying outdoor games is a rare sight ..even in housing societies where there is enough room to play.. as a child I used to be constantly outdoors playing pitthu (called lagori in Marathi)... those days were and are still v v precious
There should always be a difference between lifestyle of kids and lifestyle of parents when they were kids. This difference is considerable nowadays may be due to tech evolution. :) Good one! Keep writing.
Deepak..very true...your article reminded me of our childhood days....(the golden time)....I always encourage my daughters to go out and play the outdoor games instead of playing games on cell phone or P.C....nice article...keep writing
Deepak..very true...your article reminded me of our childhood days....(the golden time)....I always encourage my daughters to go out and play the outdoor games instead of playing games on cell phone or P.C....nice article...keep writing
Very Nice "first blog" deepak.
My Personal View
The problem can't be completly accounted to this generation but its specific to the "Rich / Higher middle class" parents who are scared to expose their kids.
We can still see the Lokhadwala high school ground always full on weekends and hardly any place to play cricket.
no childhood anymore.. only ipad and iwant!!!! blame the parents i say.. ditto on d keep writing :)
Very true.keep writing continue........I very glad to see your this activity...
DKa..great.. keep writing.. On subject I should say, we need to consider the generation gap ...
Nice article. .. keep writing. .. this reminded me of my childhood days....
Throughly agree to this...
I hope our kid live at lest little percent of it
Very true and realistic! Today's generation might nt even be aware of wt a gilli danda looks like or wt does lagori mean. Even parents take pride in their kids being computer savvy which is nt wrong bt wt we shud aim at is being able to strike the right balance
Credit goes to parents lifestyle
Nice article...nowadays competetion between the kids/students increasing rapidly.....in the earlier days..there was not much competition...So we have to be prepared --for parents as well as for kids...The things which I missed during my childhood...would like to cover for my kids....whther its a outdoor activity or indoor activity...Currently apart from studies, one should have a alternate hobby or interests.so that it can be used for a good purpose in future...
Very nice Deepak it is very important issue , some parents think it is important that their child is perfect in education and top of the class. Surely this is putting unnecessary pressure on the children
Sports is a remarkably creative process children’s are learning how to learn how to take initiative, what is team work and most importantly to create and solve their own problems for me sports actually teaches how to deal with real world.
Parents need to understand one thing
What children see or interact with on the computer screen is only a representation of things in the real world Vaibhav...
Like parents like children. Children do what their parents do. They are the reflections of the parents' light. I think parents/teachers should also take the initiative and show them the beauty of the nature , to fall in love with nature. Yeah That's true !! With all the so called "techno-studies" they should also value and enjoy the outdoor games. So Dear parents , Take some time out of your busy schedule and cherish your childhood with your children's giggles and laughter :)
Nice article Deepak. Keep up the good work !!
Ankita
Very nice dka. Having said that do we go out and play with them or with our gadgets?
Deepak,
Very nicely articulated post. It transported me in a flash to my own childhood summer vacations :-). Parents and teachers have to set an example for the children. Because, children, by nature are very impressionable - they need to be molded the right way.
Do keep writing. Would like to read more of your thoughts.
Cheers,
Saurabh
Thanks everyone for your time and valuable comments . Its quite inspiring for me to get such feedbacks .
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