Today, I look around and can’t help but go back in time to my growing-up years. I see children stuck in their rooms, their eyes glued to their phones, tablets, or some gadget that consumes their attention.
It is unthinkable to entertain the thought of them going outside to play! Tearing them away from their phones or social media is a humungous task that even their parents have given up on. In fact, for some parents, it is easier to leave them on it, as they get to do their chores uninterrupted.
In my childhood days, children did not suffer from diabetes, many were not overweight, and they were super fit – they had to be if they were going to put up any meaningful challenge during the games we played, such as dandy shandy, hopscotch, marbles, and skipping.
It was fun to ‘hula hoop’, starting from the waist, working the hoop all the way up to our necks, and then transferring it to our hands, where we spun it around.
Coming home from school, I could hardly wait to get out of my school uniform to go outside and play. It was every child’s dream to hurriedly get their chores done just so they could enjoy themselves with their friends outside.
At the end of the day, I would go inside all sweaty but totally satisfied, ready to shower and prepare for bed.
Growing up, attending church was a must. Every Sunday, my parents would ensure that my brothers and I were ready to head to Sunday School. Although I must admit, I used to grumble that they were sending us and they were not going! Still, who had time to be miserable when my friends and I had the time of our lives learning about Jesus, reciting memory verses, and performing in children’s programmes? I lived for those days.
Today, I feel sad as I realise that a lot of these children will never enjoy the positive influences we enjoyed from being a part of Sunday School.
With the government spending a lot of money trying to control the amount of sweets children are consuming, growing up, I did not have that to contend with. Apart from lemonade – well, limeade, really – we drank water, and sometimes we got natural juices.
Going to church, we did not have any lunch bags stocked with all kinds of goodies. We got food when we went home. Today, ushers have to be collecting the garbage children leave in church after eating, along with water and drink bottles.
As I make the comparison, I realise there is nothing I would change about my childhood. In fact, I wish I still had the strength to run up and down and get rid of these unwelcome extra pounds!