SO FUNNY AND YET SO SAD
i read somewhere that there is now a program that would help revive philippine games (aka larong kalye) and this would entail gathering children in some park to let them play piko, patintero, tumbang-preso, etc.
grabe. all i could think about was it's just stupid.
but then again they may be on to something, like trying to save the panda bear or save the earth from accelerated global warming.
you see, larong kalye is sinking into oblivion, tinabunan na ng cable tv, computer games, broadband internet and lack of space.
i seldom see children playing "chinese garter" or the "10-20" i used to play (until grade 6!) these days.
no wonder we're getting more lampa or fatter kids in our midst. it's so sad, really. the present generation of children are missing a lot like camaraderie, the simple joys of physical "sports"...i can't explain it.
when i was still an uhugin child, best days were spent along our eskinita, playing piko. we would go to the nearest pasuan (pottery shop/factory) to get pieces of broken pots for our pato. the flatter and more durable, the better. my ate had the unfair advantage of being big (malaking bulas siya noon) so she and her team mates would always win.
summers were so special because this meant that we could play shato, sipa, tumbang preso all day. i would come home at 6 pm dusty or muddy, sun-burned and smelly.
i could go on and on reminiscing my happy childhood but that would be digressing na.
the thing here is who or what is/are the reason(s) why these games are dying? is it the parents' over-protectiveness that one minute of exposure to the sun might kill the precious little ones? is it the pressure of having to produce honor-kids that they shutter their children away from the simple joys of physical activity and puro aral na lang nang aral ang inaatupag?
or is it the lack of empty lots were children can play? is it because of cable tv and channels like cartoon network and disney make kids stay glued to the tv?
what?
i want to know kasi i don't want that happening to my kids in the future. i want them to have the same opportunities and experience that i had when i was growing up. yun nga lang baka wla na silang kalaro at lahat na ng mga bata nakatutok na sa arcade o sa playstation o ang alam na lang na gawin sa mundo eh magpunta sa malls.
