Why aren't our children playing? It has been years now since I've seen a child flying a kite or running a wheel-and-wire. And it frightens me a little. We have created a technologically-dominated society of personal computers, Super-Nintendos, Segas and a rash of other computer systems - a society where the social event of the year is the release of Windows 2000, or the updated version of Tomb Raider. Something seems terribly wrong here. We seem to have lost focus of the fact that our children need to participate in outdoor activities to enhance their overall development. Childhood is already fleeting enough already without children spending all their time glued to a television screen. Television is an audio-visual media that delights in bombarding the public with visceral images of violence and blatantly explicit bedroom scenes, cultivating ideas in the fragile psyches of children they could well do without. Further, a closer look at the current situation will reveal that a vast majority of our children revel in electronic blood sport. Some of these children, seemingly imbued with the strength and power of a Ken or Ryu have resolved to end even minor disputes with a well-delivered "dragon-punch" to the head or the body. Children no longer believe in magic and fairy tales. They believe in a world where Sleeping Beauty has overdosed on sleeping pills and where Prince Charming isn't coming to save the day - he's gone bowling with his friends. We were the children of the atomic age, the unsuspecting victims of spiralling technological advan-ces, yet we still found time out to be children. We always delighted in a game of make-believe every now and then. Today's children believe in violence and money. Missing something Will anything sensible be done? Of course not. We have come to accept such instances as unavoidable consequences of the relentless grind of modern-day life. But the kids are missing something. They are missing those old-fashioned family reunions in the country, outdoor barbecues, the joy of flying a kite, and the simple thrill of running a wheel-and-wire. Instead, they have developed this eerie fascination with weapons and a sad preoccupation with the diversions of an adult world. They worry about the careers they want in the future, whether they'll be millionaires, and if the Playstation II will have ultra-cool games or not. They want the women, the house, the job, all in one grand sweep. Worrying about the future is a major source of stress for today's teens. All of them are locked into an awful "Reverse Peter Pan Syndrome" where everyone is so intent on growing up that they forget to enjoy their childhoods. It's all about easy money, easy sex and a morality that grows more cloudy by the minute. And the scary thing is that these kids will one day become parents, and only God knows what will happen then. You can e-mail me at cmillsy@yahoo.com
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