Playgrounds empty, children indoors

Aurangabad: The psychiatrists and the paediatricians have expressed concerns over the children preferring to stay indoors with the electronic gadgets these days. It has been observed that the outdoor activities of school-going children have reduced considerably.

Lakshmi Murthy, head of resources and planning at Stepping Stones School, says that parents prefer studies over outdoor activities and they are okay with their children not going out very often.

“With so much emphasis given on improving their grades, numerous competitive exams and different hobby classes, the children these days have a tight schedule,” she says, adding, “Parents fear for their children’s safety in the outdoor environment and in case of working parents it becomes very difficult to let their children out of the house without supervision.”

Child specialists also find digital technology as a key contributor behind this tendency of children spending less time in outdoor activities.

A city-based consultant psychiatrist Amol Deshmukh says, “It is very important for children to go out to be able to good physical as well as mental health and to develop soft skills like communication, decision making, and teamwork.”

Experts opine that the lack of outdoor activities during childhood often leading to early onset of cardiovascular disorders, diabetes, hypertension and other old age diseases.

Paediatrician and EQ trainer Roshni Sodhi says that playing in the garden, aerobics, swimming and cycling in children are essential for children’s mental, physical, social and emotional health.

“Apart from the issues widely observed in children spending less time in outdoor activities like obesity and eye issues, they also have an impact on their mental, social and emotional development,” Sodhi asserts.

Lack of physical activity, connect with nature and minimal social bonding lead to stress, anger and violent emotions, she says. Getting likes on social media is not improving social relationships. Newer studies say that the human relationships are on a decline which is alarming

So, its time you take that smartphone from your toddler and send them out in the playground to bond with his friends in real world.