Sometimes parents cross the line and become sources of pressure to their kids, even in playgrounds. In games and sports competitions organized in playgrounds, for example, parents go to great lengths to ensure that their kids win. There is nothing wrong with teaching kids to become competitive, but it certainly is a different matter if kids are stripped away of the capacity to enjoy themselves, at playgrounds at that.

Lessons from the playground
Parents need to step back a little and let their kids be kids. Letting kids participate in games, win or lose, teaches them priceless lessons. Allowing kids to play with other kids is one way to help them grow up healthy, physically and socially. (more…)

When children ask for permission to go outside to play, parents often fear for the safety of their kids outdoors. After all, a child coming home with a scraped knee and scratches all over is a heartbreaking sight no parent would ever wish to see.

It is thus a good thing that an increasing number of safe playgrounds are being built in our communities. It would immediately be noticeable that these playgrounds are quite similar in that they all employ the use of rubber mulch. (more…)

Numerous studies have shown that there is really no substitute for the childhood games that our forefathers have played before the invention of video games. Regardless of how mothers across generations reprimand their kids for getting down and dirty and muddied and grimy, at the back of their minds, they know it’s almost a necessary part of growing up, much like going to the dentist and having that first crush.

As such, it’s baffling how the bare and pure pleasure of playground fun is lost among today’s youth. Instead of battling for the latest version of a jungle gym, they ask their parents for the latest handheld gadget to hit the market. I don’t even need to tell you the effect of this paradigm shift in play on the fitness of your kid. It’s very much like comparing a conventional book and an e-book. The e-book will not only tire your eyes in an instant, really, there is just no replacing the musky smell of a freshly opened literary purchase. (more…)