Is Playtime for Kids A Dying Tradition?

My eight-year-old nephew is the poster child of generation Z: a bright, sophisticated kid who is globally, technologically and visually oriented. He and I had recently played a strategy board game which he very much took an interest in. Last week he requested that we play it again. He was sad that I didn’t have the board game in my possession at the time. Consequently, I went on an “activity” quest to entertain the boy and decided hangman to be the simplest and most effective.

The other day, I was reading an article about why kids of the ‘80s are tougher than kids today. Kids were allowed to play and explore without a constant watchful eye. Helmets, knee-pads and wrist guards were not a thing. Casts were badges of honour for kids. And parents didn’t feel shameful or neglectful when their kids broke bones.

The backseat of a car was a playground where you could sit whichever way. The article depicts how playtime back in the day involved more risks and essentially, no activities were off-limits for kids. Additionally, playing alone was almost never an option.

Being an ‘80s kid myself, as I read the list, I couldn’t help but smile and nod. As a five-year-old, together with my older siblings, we would put together stories and make drawings on index cards to play as puppets. We would build a stage on our bed, using pillows and a blanket hung by a string tied to a door and a hook on the wall. Between the three of us, we took turns as actors; voice-overs and puppeteering were tasks divided three-way. We improvised the whole production with no prompting, direction or supervision from an adult, nor any audience.

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Similarly, shooting hoops with all the neighborhood kids in the afternoon and exploring jalan tikus on a bike with my cousins seemed second nature and, in fact, were something we looked forward to every day.

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We couldn’t wait to go out to play with our friends at every chance we had. We called this fun. We called this playtime. Play meant interacting with other kids. It meant being engaged in some sort of physical activities. It meant capitalizing on the (lack of) resources; i.e. the toys we had. It meant creating and exploring new things or places. It meant expanding our imagination. The question is, were those things merely fun and games?

I suspect the Baby Boomers and Generation Xers would strongly argue that they had something to do with building character, with developing skills—resourcefulness, problem-solving and enterprise thinking, with courage and with exercising a person’s mental physique. I tend to advocate this notion.

Is the ‘80s childhood experience becoming rare for kids these days? Has the greater playground been replaced and limited to the confines of a children’s area in a shopping mall? Has the limited repertoire of entertainment been upgraded by the all-purpose devices? Have the natural impulses to play and be active been diminished into a scheduled time for exercise? Would it be an old-school stance to presume that, despite the modernisation and advancements that have provided us with easier lives, there’s a lot to be said about the rusticity and primitiveness of one’s childhood?

This article has been published by Now! Jakarta magazine

My latest article on Britcham’s Update magazine March/April issue p.41. “Summer Camps for Teenagers: Attending School of Life”

Reports on Power Teen summer camp

We recently had a group of teenagers come to our 6-day Youth summer program “POWER TEEN Camp & Expedition” from 25 – 30 June 2012. The group consisted of girls and boys, aged between 12 and 18. A select few of the participants were avid outdoor fans who had been to adventure trips prior, although the majority were not as enthusiastic, but all of them were great sports and very participative in the program.

The Tower of Courage

Reynard (13) climbs the 15 meter Tower | Photo credit: Outward Bound Indonesia/Yulius Bahy

The parents brought the kids and dropped them off at the training site in the early morning of June 25. After their good-byes, they didn’t waste any time and got right down to business. In the introduction and ice breaking phase, it appeared that the young participants were still uncomfortable with each other. Nonetheless, the group dynamics started shaping quickly as they were assigned problems to solve as a team.Their communication skill, leadership, teamwork and analytical skill were honed on during these problem solving activities. It also broke the barriers among the participants. The biggest challenge of day 1 for these teenagers had to be the 15meter high multi element tower, where they climbed to the top of it and continued with ropes challenge that surrounds the structure. 

For someone who’s afraid of heights, this would be the ultimate challenge, for someone who has no problem being in high places this would also be a test of mind over matter. For them, it was the first taste of learning about overcoming self-doubt and building self confidence. “I was so scared to do it at first, but I didn’t give up, and I did it!” said Adven, a small but tenacious 14 year old boy. 

The true meaning of “Packing Light”

For the next 5 days and nights, they would be building tents to sleep in, preparing and cooking their own meals, packing, unpacking and carrying their own 15 kgs worth of gears and equipments for 6 days. I was astonished by how relentless and independent these kids were, regardless of age and physique, they all persevered through every challenge.

Evening discussion at Camp site

The “Ox” Tale

One of their greatest achievements throughout the journey was also the staggering climb to Mount Lembu (Mount Ox). Their perseverance, positive mental attitude and ability to work together as a team were outstanding. “The kids looked out for each other and helped one another in their journey. They worked as a team, not individuals,” said Satriyo, the lead senior instructor of the expedition. Their take-away of the climbing expedition was unanimous, which was “to never give up”.

Journey to Mount Lembu

Service Learning in the local Village

For 24 hours, the kids lived in homestays in one of the villages around Lake Jatiluhur. They interacted with the families, shared meals together, helped with the daily work of the hosts and spent the night in their homes. The host families work as farmers, goat shepherds, fishermen and fish traders.

Bella & Lingkan’s Catch of the Day: Helping host family with their chores

Needless to say, they lived very simple and inter-connected lives. The impact of this activity to the kids was profound, in that they learned about humility and appreciating the simplicity of life, they learned the important values in family like respect, understanding and compassion. Kelvin Rei (15) said “Jatiluhur was the best place I’ve been. I want to go back to the village one day and build a bamboo house there.” Caecilia, Kelvin’s mother was surprised by the change in her son and reported back to me a week after the program saying “Kelvin preferred to help me in the kitchen to playing video games. I was so touched.”

Kids learning West Java traditional music instrument

I am very pleased with the outputs of the program and with what the kids were able to learn and take away. Each one of these young participants truly embodied the spirit of Outward Bound, which is to release their “anchor” of comfort zone and sail the ship into the unknown sea. Raphael Ibrahim (12) sums it all up the best “The program put me through hell. But I’m in heaven!”

At Graduation

A big congratulations to Kristo, Bella, Stephen, Adven, Thomas, Raphael, Reynard, Lingkan, Kelvin and Hazel for completing the journey and having been such courageous warriors. And for the proud parents, thank you for supporting the program and being extremely patient during the process.

This article has been published on Outward Bound Indonesia’s blog

Reflections on Jakarta Highland Gathering

This past weekend, Outward Bound Indonesia participated in a prestigious event called Jakarta Highland Gathering (JHG). It is originally an annual event that takes place in Scotland to celebrate Scottish and Celtic traditions and heritage. This wonderful event was brought to Indonesia some 30 years ago and it’s turned into an annual tradition since.The event involves some serious and highly competitive highland games such as the heavies, caber toss, piping competitions and dancing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highland_games For the rest of us, it’s a chance to enjoy the sun while having some fun.

Underprivileged kids given the opportunity to play and explore. Photo credit: Outward Bound Indonesia / Yulius Bahy

On Saturday, May 26, 2012 we helped to sponsor JHG’s Charity Day. It was a fantastic way to give back to the community and young children through sports and games. Close to 300 underprivileged kids aged 7 – 17 showed up that day just to have fun. They participated in several different activities; from our Outward Bound games, to rugby, soccer, cricket, bouncy castle and tug o war. When you looked at their faces, all you saw was pure bliss, such contentment to be able to play on a (well-kept) large soccer field.

On Sunday, May 27, 2012 we had a large area in which we placed a 10-meter-high vertical challenge tower. It doesn’t sound high, but believe me it was. Our location happened to be on the lakeside of which we took advantage by setting up canoeing activities. Interestingly enough, apart from some adults, most of the ones who tried our facilities were young kids, aged 4 all the way up to 17. You wouldn’t believe how unwavering these 4, 5, 6 year old, boys and girls, flying through the tower like superkids – and believe you me, they were! They were up for anything, didn’t show any concern of the heights nor the difficult obstacles. Truly great sports!

An 8-year old girl brave up to climb the “Tower of Courage”. Photo credit: Outward Bound Indonesia / Yulius Bahy

Kids and families explore the water. Photo credit: Outward Bound Indonesia / Yulius Bahy

The Fear Factor

I was so amazed by this fact, that I went and did some serious observing that day. And what I observed was that the younger the kids were, the less concerned they were about heights or the water. I suppose the theory about fear is true, in that fear comes from a perceived threat. If we don’t know the risk of something, we wouldn’t be afraid of it or to try it. If we had a negative experience with eating spinach, we might be reluctant to try again in the future. In the same light, babies, toddlers or small kids don’t instinctively know the sensation of fire being hot. Typically the adults will tell them it’s hot and not to touch it – OR, kids will go ahead and touch it, cry and learn about fire being hot and (maybe) learn the lesson to not touch it next time.They say kids’ brains are like sponges that they absorb everything. And the more they experience diverse things in life, the more wholesome they become.

It’s wonderful when kids are being exposed to different experience, stimulus and challenges. So to me, it was a positive experience to see on both days of JHG that kids dive right into activities, especially those that perhaps for many others were perceived as “challenge activities”. So here’s to kids being able to play and explore – and to hoping more kids can get the opportunity to do so!

Ensuring a Balanced Development for Our Adolescents

Parents and educators alike continuously search for ways to give the best education there is for their kids. It’s becoming more and more urgent for schools to provide not only the standard academic curriculum, extracurricular activities, but also specific programs for character development that are intermittent in the curriculum. You’ll find wide ranging extracurricular activities, from performing arts to sports. Youth leadership programs are also provided for those involved in the student council and other organizations or clubs. There are many non-academic activities available for our adolescence, why are they important?

photo credit: almightydad.com

Adolescence Being Engaged and Active Outside of Classroom

There are many reasons behind the provision of extracurricular activities for teenagers. Occupying students with activities outside of classroom has been proven to give positive impact for them. Aside from providing purposeful time and helping teenagers steer away from negative influence due to idle time, non-academic programs help them explore multi-faceted talents they might not experience in class otherwise. The skills they learn from these activities are invaluable for their lives ahead, may it be the technical skill of playing the piano or playing soccer, or the soft skill of interest in arts and spirit of sportsmanship.

Facts about Physical, Mental and Spiritual Balance

Plenty of research have shown that teenagers need to learn not only from inside of classroom, but also from outside of classroom. Being involved in sports, theaters, scouts, musical, dance will positively affect a teenager’s physical, mental and spiritual health. Outdoor activities have been scientifically proven to boost a teen’s self confidence and self esteem. A team sport is a wonderful avenue for teenagers to learn about competitiveness, teamwork and sportsmanship. The more obvious fact is that active kids can improve their health significantly, and can reduce risks of obesity, heart problems and diabetes in the long term.

Why Learn in the Outdoors?

When a teenager goes on an outdoor program like Outward Bound, not only will they encounter physical challenge but essentially they will learn about life skills. Through physical strive, they will discover their strengths and potentials, they will learn about perseverance and to condition their minds in order to beat their own mental inhibitions. They will find new outlook and self-esteem about themselves.

Through team challenges, teenagers will learn to work together and build relationships with others, strive for a common goal versus personal ego, and also importantly, they will learn about compassion for others. Being sensitive to the needs of others is not an innate trait that everyone is born with or automatically has – it’s a learned skill that can be practiced. In an outdoor program like Outward Bound, teenagers will learn the skills and insights of personal growth as well as inter-personal relationships.

It’s essential that our teenagers be introduced with a wide variety of activities and interests; to keep them active, to keep them healthy, well-versed, for them to have different interests in life, to expand their potential, to develop their character, attitude and inter-personal skills and lastly to equip them with life skills they will someday use in the future. So for parents and educators alike, keep our adolescents active and help them develop and grow holistically.

This article has been published on Outward Bound Indonesia’s blog http://outwardboundindo.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/ensuring-a-balanced-development-for-our-adolescents/