I remember when the school bell rung on the final day of term before the school holidays kicked in. The anticipation was sometimes a bit too much for me and my friends. We would run out of school as if it were a scene from a prison break to make the most of our new found freedom. My friends and I would seize each day by spending as much time as possible getting involved in a variety of sports. Whether that was playing over the football fields, going down to the park, or getting involved in activities at our local leisure centre. Our mothers were always dragging us home before it got too dark, and were always wondering where we were. Looking back at it now, the half-term holidays were one of the greatest times of my life.
Now it’s very easy to look back at fond memories with rose tinted spectacles. There were of course grazed knees and fall outs with my friends over silly things. Nevertheless, I think we have lost something quite fundamental in the modern era. The rapid rise of technology and its application to our daily lives should be greeted with great caution. Whereas my mother would often drag me in from the playground during my childhood, it seems as if parents are now desperately trying to get their children to go outside and get off their phones.
Children aged 5 – 16 are now spending on average six and a half hours a day sat in front of a screen. This has risen dramatically from 1995 when the average was around 3 hours. It’s understandable, children are now growing up with the internet always existing. Now don’t get me wrong, the internet is brilliant, most of our social interactions and media content comes directly from our daily fix of burning up our data allowances. However, too much of a good thing can be harmful and damaging.
The digital age is having some unwanted side effects on our health and wellbeing in which children and adults are becoming more and more sedentary. You could argue that the only real thing which is getting a workout these day are our thumbs, as we spend hours devoted to playing video games on our consoles, or communicating with people through apps on our phones. It comes as no surprise that obesity levels in children and adults are skyrocketing and that the art of communication is dying.
Children are now growing up with little understanding of a world without the internet. Fortunately there’s something we can do about it. activeNewham has an extensive programme of half-term activities for you and your entire family to sink your teeth into.
activeNewham and Newham Council are dedicated to helping young people take part in sport by bringing together the very best that’s on offer from our local leisure centres, park and sports facilities. Through programmes such as every child’s a sports person, Parklives, Every Family Active, HeadStart and Us Girls we want to encourage people to become more physically active on a daily basis.
This half-term activeNewham have a huge range of actives for children to come and get involved in. At Newham Leisure Centre, activeAcademy will be running supervised sessions which offer a full day of fun action and sport for children to enjoy. Children can take part in a range of sports including badminton; tennis, dodgeball, football, dance and much more. There are also great activities including games, quizzes, arts and crafts to help children develop and further their skills and abilities.
In addition Atherton Leisure Centre are also running their Kids Club programme. This is an action packed adventure of creative discovery and play. There’s plenty for everyone to get involved in from soft play, to games and activities in the studios, to creative play and swimming for competent swimmers over 8 years. These programmes are perfect for working parents during the school holidays.
Children getting involved in sports, can provide a variety of benefits which are more than just purely physical. Participation in sports can help children to excel academically, build self-esteem and motivate and build social skills.
Sport helps children interact with not only their peers, but also with adults in the form of their coaches and sports officials. Working towards a common goal, kids learn leadership skills, team-building and communication skills which they can carry though the rest of their lives. acitveNewham’s coaches are always at hand to offer praise for children to encourage and trust in their own abilities. Sport also provides a place for young people to learn how to deal with competitions and how to cope with both winning and losing. This social and moral development is not something to be easily dismissed.
The skills and the inherent values that sport fosters is something which can’t be learnt through a smartphone. You have to live and breathe it and experience it first-hand. Our playgrounds and sports fields are getting quieter, if this continues we can only fear for what may be lost upon for future generations.
