Do today's children know how to play games anymore?

The new generation child can remain glued to the play station or television for hours on end. The truth of the matter is that parents don't find this too inconvenient. The television/ play station/ computer games have become convenient baby sitters.

To have a child playing games involving imaginary play will have the inevitable effect of chaos. Blankets will be brought out to serve as tents. Then mom's pots and pans will get a turn to do service as music instruments. Any play therapist will tell you that this is a necessary part of children's development. Still it takes some grinding of the teeth for adults who tend to appreciate a neat house.

The sad truth is that many children get short-handed by their choice in games. By being inactive they don't build muscle strength, which leads to low muscle tone. This leads to a lot of stress at school. They can become overweight which in turn leads to low self-esteem.

Just as much as children opt for computer games to pass the time, so do parents. After a day at work many fathers go home to spend their time in front of a television or to play computer games. Children go to bed without dad being aware of it. Everyone goes to sleep feeling listless after another day of little physical activity and emotional closeness.

This could be altered by rather spending time playing wholesome family games together-outside. Fun and enjoyment can be as far as your own garden. A whole lot of games can be played and mastered on a children's jungle gym. Children are totally oblivious of the positive spin-offs that come with hanging around on a jungle gym. Things like muscle strength, gross-motor skills and cognitive development are but a few of the things that get a good work-out while at the same time they spend time with mom and dad. Here are a few ideas.



- MARCH OF THE ANTS. In this game music is played while the children march around like busy ants. When the music stops, the ants have to scatter to the safety of the jungle gym. Those with there feet off the ground are safe. If you are caught before you are safely on the jungle gym, you switch places with the catcher. This will give the children the opportunity to admire dad's climbing skills.

- FREEZE. You will need a whistle for this game. The starting point for the race should be a descent distance from the jungle gym. Put a marker of some kind on the highest point of the jungle gym. When the whistle goes the children must run towards the jungle gym. As soon as the whistle blows twice they must stop. Should someone move after the blow of the whistle he/she must move back 3 steps. The first one to make it to the marker on the jungle gym, wins. It might be a good idea to lay down a few rules around pulling or pushing off the jungle gym.

- RING THE BELL. A stopwatch as well as a bell will be needed. Fasten the bell on the highest point on the jungle gym. Each child gets a specific time for example one minute to go up and down the jungle gym to ring the bell. (The time allocated will be determined by the age of the child and the difficulty of the jungle gym). The child who rang the bell the most times is the winner.

- BATTY BOWLING. Put a few items around the jungle gym. Things like plastic bottles, milk cartons, boxes etc. Give a child a few tennis balls and let them bowl the targets over from the top of the jungle gym.

Here's to playing games again! Should you need professional advice on jungle gyms, do visit www.junglegymworld.com. It will open a whole new world of games and fun.