Kids shun sports for gadgets, parents worried

Jaswant Shetra

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Jagraon, October 5

The changing lifestyle of schoolchildren has left their parents worried. The growing dependency of schoolchildren on new technologies has been adversely affecting the physical as well as mental health of children.

The modern day facilities such as mobile phones, televisions, video games, laptops and other new technologies have completely changed the life style of kids. The children spent most of their time playing video games, surfing the internet or watching television which results diseases such as obesity, effecting eye sight and other health related issues.

“Earlier, the children used to play outdoor games which kept them physically fit. But nowadays, they spent most of their times sitting before television or playing games on mobile phones and surfing on internet. The children no more play outdoor games which has made the them lethargic”, said Mukesh Kumar, father of a Class VII student.

The teaching community is also equally worried about this growing trend among the children. “The physical activities and sports are very important for overall development of among kids. But now the children spend most of their time before computers and televisions. Therefore, it has become important to keep them involved in physical activities in the schools”, says Hardeep Singh, a sports instructor at a local school.

The experts and the doctors say it is a duty of parents to keep a child involved in outdoor activities.

“The parents must make a schedule for their children and they should be motivated to play outdoor games. A child should not be allowed to use a mobile phone or watch television for long time because it hinders their natural growth”, said a pediatrician, Dr Kailash Goel.