Catching butterflies...

I sat by my desk having lunch whilst my co worker and I had a conversation about his six year old son. He went on to tell me that his son went out to play a game of cricket on Saturday morning, thirty minutes, later he returned with his friends to come inside to play Xbox 360. When my co worker told me this my heart dropped, 'cause I know what I did as a child and there were video games, but those weren't as important as they are now.
I remember playing marble pitch with my neighbour...yep, I was a lil tomboy..lol. Making flour kites from my copy book pages and stealing the cocoyea broom stick from my great-grandmom's broom (level licks when she found her broom slack and my back page from my copy book falling out). I used to climb the plum tree and sit on it eating plum and reading a book, roller blading, playing cricket or catch, red light green light one-two-three-stop, Simon Says, cabbage, riding bike, taking the baby robin out of it's nest and feeding it boiled rice and then found it dead the next day (Elmyra much).

This one time I found a shower curtain in the back room and thought it was old and decided to spread it on the lawn, throw some soap on it and skate on it with my neighbour..well hear nah...more licks. Bow and arrow tied with thread with the same cocoyea broom stick (no, I didn't learn) and ran around the house playing Buffy the vampire slayer with my neighbour. Talking about running around the house, I used to fill up my neighbours super soaker with soap water and sprayed the jeps and run for my life. I had loads of swollen eyes. But on Saturdays..that was the best ever! My uncle made a netted butterfly cage and catcher for me. I would spend about 2 hours on Saturday mornings catching them with my net and putting them in the cage, don't worry I let them loose after, that was the deal with my uncle.

I remembered playing Barbies with my aunt until two in the morning and my grandmom screaming at us to go to bed.This one time there was a construction company putting down a foundation but they didn't work on weekends and my cousins and I decided to swim in their tank (yup, the tank they drank water from...that we properly well peed in ..shame).

As I reminisce about some of my childhood days I began to wonder if our kids will ever experience what we experienced. Everyday a new game or gadget is created which eliminates what was once called extra curricular activities in my time. Now it's Xbox, Playstation, internet and every other thing that excludes outdoor activites.

What I want to know from my readers is would you try to encourage your children to go outdoors and play like we did as kids or would you encourage them to to get involved in all the "fancy gadgets".
I for one don't mind incorparating both with a bargain meaning..if you don't get ya tail outside and pitch marbles or play some football then you won't be playing any Xbox or playstation....jus saying.