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Mind the games


"Mom! Can I please download a game, mom? Please!!??" I am on a bus and I hear a child ask his harried mother this question. The mother, who is working furiously on her iPad,  is only too happy to let the child choose a game and downloads one for him. A few minutes into the game, the child is bored. "I am bored of this game, mom! Lets download another?!".....sound familiar? Most parents can relate to the above incident, and those who don't are either not parents yet or are blessed with children who know better ;-)
We hear children as young as three, four and five years of age, keen on (and surprisingly, even knowing how to!) download games on their parents' smartphones and tablets or iPads. Though, as youngsters ourselves, even we were fascinated by video games and computer games and even agreeing that it is natural, it is still a bit of a concern that our children, very young children, are caught in the lure of these games. But if you ask me, the question is not why are the children hooked on to games and smartphones? The question is why have we let them?



Remember the time when as children, we used to hear stories from our grandparents? Remember when we used to play made up games with our friends in the apartment building where we lived? Remember the fights, the make believe sword fights we used to have with our siblings? I remember my mom using peanuts to teach me simple addition and subtraction, and if I got the sum right, I could eat half of the peanuts we used....(some incentive that was, 'cause this way, I learned how to calculate half of any number, quicker than I'd have otherwise learnt in school).
The games, the stories, the songs of our childhood....we do try to pass on to our children most of these as much as we can, but still, things are very different today. Many of us have flown our nests and the apartment buildings where we grew up with many friends, have become the things to reminisce about. Many of us don't even live in the same country we grew up in, and with that changes a lot. Even for those who are still in the same place, times have changed and the ease and the fun that defined our childhood doesn't define our children's.....which is more than sad.
In our hurry to get our work done and our constant quest for a better life for our children, somewhere we lost tract of the children themselves. How difficult is it to strike up a conversation with your child while you wait for the school bus in the morning? Or maybe play a simple game of  spot the red car or count the bikes with your child while travelling by road? Why not indulge in a simple game of snakes and ladders on a rainy day ? Or play dress up?
Oh, I forget! Who has the time! We get five minutes, and we have to either be on a call or have to check on our emails or WhatsApp or Facebook..... and do so much else, (well there are also responsible parents who do not do this but take time out to clean the house, do their laundry and hordes of other things...) that a few minutes of respite is used to give the phone or the tablet to the child to do whatever pleases his mind as we have to get on with our work.
Everyone blames the TV for spoiling our children but a bigger danger is lurking in our homes, small enough and smart enough to fit in those tiny hands and change their worlds forever, like never before! From a very young age, our children are exposed to games and apps on our smartphones and if we, as parents are not careful, it is only an invitation to disaster. It is important to check what your child is downloading, what games your child is playing. Though mindless games are okay once in a while, it can act as an addiction that is difficult to get rid of as the child grows. Also, many of these games need your child to make a lot of in-app purchases that you need to set proper controls for.
Now, you could say, look, I hear you, but my child is not growing up in the environment that I grew up in. He doesn't have friends in our apartment; nor do I have the time to spend playing with my child! Plus, in today's day and age of technology, I don't want to leave my child out of playing games on my smartphone and my tablet, all his friends do it, and I don't want my child to be left out! (You will be surprised how many parents think so.) Okay, so now we have restrictions on physical play....so instead of taking a child to the park, we download a game for him that simulates the park....
Well, if it is so difficult to get your child experience the same childhood as yours, and if you absolutely have to introduce your child to the world of apps and gaming, why not invest a little time and get the games and apps that will help your child...teach him something new... Why not get a game that challenges her intellect or even teaches her something really important....Choose a game wisely.....try and see age appropriate games and informative apps....children are like a sponge, ready to absorb all the knowledge that they can....use the apps to bring this knowledge to them in story format that they will enjoy.....there is a lot you can do ...... but then again...that will involve you having to make the time.
But I say, make that effort, take those five minutes. So the next time you give your phone to your child to play while you work, you know that he too is investing his time in an activity that stimulates his mind...makes him work, and learn too, in the process. After all, your children are going to be this young only once. Give them the chance of remembering their childhood as fondly as you remember yours :-)

Comments

  1. Thanks Sweetie! :-) Very aptly said…

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  2. Any time dear! Thanks for having me write for you.....

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  3. Totally agree Rashmi. Thankfully we are blessed with a garden in our complex and there are lot of kids. Anushka learning to cycle and phone access limited to only weekends and that too only Subway Surfer to which unfortunately my husband is also addicted to these days. ;) One site which is really love is "Starfall". Have you tried it? I think playing outdoors teaches your child a variety of things including team work and yes even fighting with others.. Keep writing. Loved this one. Have been trying to make my friends understand that spending time with kids is very important and mindless games in cards are also fun in their own way.

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  4. Hi Manasi,

    You are really blessed that Anushka can play outdoors and that is how it should be. An occasional game here and there wont matter, what is really important is that there is a limit set on such activities and that children are not left unattended while they are playing. Thanks.. and will surely look up "starfall"....

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आईचा ब्रेक

मिस्टर सानेंनी हळू डोळे उघडले. खिडकीतून उन्हं येत होती. खाडकन जागे झाले. दुपार झाली कि काय! घड्याळ बघितल, हुश्श, आठच वाजतायेत! पण पुढच्याच क्षणी लक्षात आलं, आठ वाजले तरी किचन मधून काही आवाज येत नाहीयेत. आज तर गुरुवार, वर्किंग डे, एव्हाना किचन मधून आवाजच नव्हे तर तर-तर्हेचे वासही यायला हवेत. डबा तयार झाला असला पाहिजे, चहा तयार झाला आला पाहिजे. पण आज कसलीच हालचाल दिसत नाही! शेजारी पहिल तर मिसेस सानेही शेजारी नाहीत. काय भानगड आहे बुआ आज?   चष्मा चढवून मिस्टर साने बेडरूम मधून बाहेर आले. मिसेस सानेंचा घरात कुठेच पत्ता नव्हता! गेली कुठे  ही? मिस्टर सानेंनी सुनबाईंना विचारायच ठरवलं. पण श्वेता त्यांना कुठे दिसेना. इतक्यात, "गुडमॉर्निंग  बाबा!" म्हणत श्वेता जांभई देत बाहेर आली आणि त्यांच्या उत्तराची वाट न पाहता, तडक  "गुडमॉर्निंग आई" म्हणत किचन मध्ये गेली. मिस्टर साने तिला काही सांगणार इतक्यात,  "अहो बाबा, आई कुठेयत?" म्हणत पुन्हा बाहेर आली. एव्हाना तिची झोप पूर्णपणे उडाली होती. "माहित नाही बुआ, मला वाटलं तुला काही बोलली असेल..."   त्यांना वा

Love them or hate them....

"Behind every great kid is a mom who is pretty sure she is getting it all wrong", they say. True, parenting is a game of 'wait and watch.' There is no right or wrong here; or nothing that is a sure fire success mantra. Everyone has a different take on on how they wish to raise their young ones. And it is the choices that parents make that impact their children majorly. 

Of life lessons and listening to one’s heart - Mrs. B speaks

Small pleasures matter in life. Really small, everyday pleasures. Like, being able to smell the garden in full bloom on a hot summer day, or being able to have a hot water bath in cold weather. Or even being able to drink a hot cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Or, for that matter, being able to eat junk food to one’s heart’s content! Ah, bliss! Oh, I almost forgot, for those of you who haven’t met me before , myself, Mrs. Bhagirathi. The kids in my building call me Mrs. B. I am a housewife. Or better still – a homemaker. I work from home and generally spend time reading and surfing the internet when the kids and my husband are away for the day. I also cook and clean, and wash and iron clothes – but I guess all that is included in the title of “homemaker.” So no special mention needed. So, like I was saying, life is a sum total of small pleasures. And what I said about junk food, is absolutely true. Especially when you think of the cheeseburger. Or the veggie bur