Research published in May from the International Play Association ( I didn't know there was such a group!) showed children rarely have unstructured time to simply enjoy themselves, kicking a ball outside or riding a bike. Spending hours in front of the TV and computer seems to be the stuff of childhood these days. By the time they are ten, most children are experts in the art of remote control. (sad isn't it?)
Do they know how to climb a tree? build a sandcastle? Or the joy of rolling down a grassy slope ? According to research, the answer is a resounding "NO". Youngsters today seem to be missing out on traditional pastimes that gave their parents treasured memories.
As I recalled, my childhood was a colourful one. There were lots of trees to climb and we siblings competed to see who dared to climb to the highest branch! There were neighbours' jambu fruits to steal - led by my notorious cousin ! Swimming with the neighbourhood kids in the stream - until caught by parents - and then the rotan - but back again to the same tricks the following week ! The never-ending hide-and-seek, hiding till dusk. The police and thief - my cousin always wanted to be the thief - me, I chose to be the police. Marbles, kites, saga seeds, rubber-bands, walking on coconut husks, empty tin cans, rolling bicycle spokes, the masak-masak, hop-scotch childhood weddings, the bicycle rides ............
Festivals were colourful - each festival with its special food and delicacies - all eagerly waited for - I learned the art of making rice dumplings after numerous attempts. The Festival of Hungry Ghosts was ( still is) accompanied by Opera Shows - every family will set their seats - comfortable platforms where the little ones could lie and sleep while their parents watch their favourite Chinese dramas. The operas could last from 3 days to seven days depending on the village's financial strength - a sign of superiority over the other 'lesser' villages who could not afford such extravagance !. My father was instrumental in booking and negotiating the terms for those operas. Once, the opera troupe had some problems with their transport - the tent had been demolished and most of their equipment were packed and sent off to another lorry - the whole troupe had to put up in our house - Boy, were we excited- at the same time, it was a let-down - they were just ordinary people !! (Nowadays this festival is celebrated with the accompaniment of modern dances and songs. The Ghosts have moved with the times !!)
Another colourful scene in the village were the itinerant tradespeople. There was the knife-sharpening man - he comes twice a year. During his visit, families would bring out their knives and scissors to be sharpened. ( My brother and I were sent to wait for the items). There was this lady hawker, (called 'Ah Ku'), who comes every afternoon around three, she would ply her kueh, rojak, mee-hoon laksa or sometimes, the red-bean soup, the red pulut pudding... hmmm delicious. The items would be carried in two baskets, straddle on a long pole as she walked from shop to shop. There's the 'tock-tock man' selling candied olives and caramel sweets - I saw a stall in KL, corner of Petaling Street, selling the same stuff. Then there's the 'Putu mayam" man - an Indian, selling kacang putih and string hoppers ( putu mayam). Once a year there a dough puppet-maker - his puppets were made from rice four. He would shape the rice flour to make animals - fish, dogs, roosters, horses and Chinese mythical heroes and these would be attached on sticks. Small ones like fish costs five to ten cents while the Chinese mythical heroes cost more. Grandpa could only afford us the smaller ones.
I wish my children's childhood were just as colourful. But time changes things. I'm sure they tool have their own special memories. I wonder if I were to introduce 'lantern procession' for my future grandchildren - how would they respond " No, way ! I don't want to be a laughing stock!" " Ugh! It sucks!" "So weird!" Comments?
4 comments:
I had the same question for sometime. Seriously I neither blame the children nor time for this radical change. I think it's to do with the school's policy and increasingly scared parents. When i was in primary school, teachers always brag about how they had better childhood, filled with adventure and fun. While we're turning into stif zombies. However i distinctly remembered, when i was in Primacy school, we weren't allowed to play in the Basketball court, and the backyard(which was filled with Sand)...was cemented...if we were caught playing in any of those sites, we were instantly punished. So basically, most adults are just full of hot air, they killed all the fun of growing up. I'm glad my parents allowed us to climb up the tree and pick mangoes, or go hicking the Hill in front of the house...unfortunately, my parents are a rare bread of intelligent adults left on the phase of the planet...
Pardon for the slight harshness, but i have a strong stand against this issue.
Maybe there are just some things in life that never go out of date. Even at university, my friends and I had our very own lantern procession around the neighbourhood.
I agree with Paul that much of your heritage depends on the parent's role.
My childhood were not exactly the same as yours mom, I admit. But it was a happy one and very authentic in its own way.
well... i loved the times when we played war games in the jungle at the foot of the hill using fire rockets... well if all you parentsfound out that we did that at that time, you'll definitely go ballistic over it. plus we played karate/ kungfu/ dragon ball pillow fight everytime after reading dragon ball comic books... and boy we were fierce... and we fished for tadpoles at the longkangs around the place... i remembered that i use to fish fishes at one of the main sewerage places. we climbed up the used to be tall hill every evening... had mini bases over there... for our sort of war games... played heaps of basketball, and do other nasty things to each other as well.... etc
Those were great times when we climbed the little hill in front of our house. I remeber fishing for fighting ants using weed inserted into the ant holes!
We also went fishing at Likas Bay though not very successful in our attempts. But, we did have good times.
We also buried a few of our dogs died of old age at the foot hill !
Of course, lantern procession during the Mooncake Festival.
You boys, remember playing at the basketball court !
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