Old‑style Play Without Screens

Not long ago, two of my grandchildren came over for a Sunday night family dinner. They walked in and made straight for the sofa to lie down. Aged 10 and 12, they pulled out their smartphones and started gaming. It saddens me to watch them, and so many other kids today, define gaming as play. When I was a kid, I knew how to play.

When I wanted a metal pedal car (踏板车) like some of my rich friends, my father made me one out of wood. It had wooden wheels and was pushed along the sidewalk using a broken hockey(曲棍球) stick on the back. At first, I was ashamed of the homemade toy. But I soon began to like it when my friends all wanted a ride.

Dad also built a huge playhouse and several tree houses. When I was older, he made me a high jump stand. Dad just loved building things, or he really loved me, or maybe a little of both.

In my neighbourhood, we didn't have much to play with. For entertainment, we had to get creative. We put up tents in the backyard and camped out. At night, we looked for adventures on the streets. We once went on a week-long bike trip to Lake Huron(it's 220 kilometres away).

My grandchildren have no idea how much fun these activities can be.That Sunday night, after dinner, I decided to take them outside to show them something“different”.

The first response was,“Why did we have to put our shoes on and go outside?”“Because Iwanted to show you something,” I said, and picked up my frisbee (飞盘).“I thought we could go outside and throw the frisbee around.”

I got a slow, reluctant“Sure” for my efforts.

With some further unwillingness, we walked out into the street and began throwing the frisbee back and forth badly. “Bend your wrist,” I instructed helpfully.

Slowly, we got the hang of it and hit the neighbour's car only three times. It's amazing how much a frisbee hurts when your fingers are cold, but we were making progress. My grandson found three excuses to go inside. Each time, though, his grandma kicked him backout. We played until the neighbour came to check on his car.