Saving the day when kids don’t go out and play

Nimesh Shastr’s home from school. Flinging his bag and tossing his shoes aside, he sinks into the sofa, remote in one hand, lunch in the other, eyes glued to the television set.

This 11-year-old Class V student is a classic example of the new couch-potato generation. The couch is their playground, the TV their playmate. And jabbing frenetically at the remote, surfing channels, is the closest they ever get to exercising.

The sedentary lifestyle of the children has brought with it a new set of concerns for doctors and parents. A problem bigger than just obesity or even the lack of it; with repercussions that threaten to affect them for the rest of their lives.

“Kids are losing social contact and are becoming shy. Their temperament and eating habits are changing,” says Shah Bipin Vadilal, a paediatrician.

Rita Kapoor couldn’t agree more. Anshul, her nine-year-old daughter, was forced to have her playtime cut down because of “greater workload”.

“But Anshul became sensitive to cough and cold. Doctors stress on the need for exercise. I am getting her to join aerobics,” Rita said. Anshul, she says, has improved in health and concentration, since.

The going was pleasantly different for Kabir (13) and Shreya (7). “The day I learnt about Kabir’s passion for football, I made him join the early-morning football classes and Shreya goes for her morning aerobic classes. And after school they have their swimming classes,” says Geeta Saxena, their mother. The out-door activities, she said, kept her children fit and energetic, helping them to concentrate on their schoolwork.

But not everyone is as lucky as Kabir and Shreya. At a time when satellite channels and playstations have conquered the kids’ imagination, parents and schools are realising the need to address the growing problem. Institutions like Arya Vidya Mandir, Dhirubhai Ambani School and Poddar School have made yoga classes mandatory from kindergarten.

“The sessions help the children and raise their levels of concentration,” says Shilpa Mehta, the yoga instructor at Dhirubhai Ambani School. Mumbai’s Yoga Institute has regular classes for children between ages 6 and 12.

“Parents get their children enrolled in these classes. It’s more than exercise. It’s a holistic development that increases their level of concentration and energy,” says Armity Desai, head of the Institute.

Vadilal, too, feels schools can play a great role in bringing about a change in the mind-set.

“Parent-teacher meetings should be held in the presence of dieticians who can also guide parents about their child’s health,” he explains Schools run by the Atomic Energy Education Society (AEES) have set a fine example, following on the lines of studies which show that approximately four to five hours of physical exercise every week is mandatory for every child. The chain of schools run by AEES has introduced a paper on physical and health education and students with an attendance of less than 75 per cent will be failed.

The children may complain now, but one thing’s for sure: when they grow up they’ll have one more thing to thank their school for.