With Christmas just around the corner and with the global recession still lingering, many people are still looking forward to having a great Christmas in spite of the challenges.  For those adults who have taken a stance of not really focusing on themselves, in terms of fulfilling their own personal desires for Christmas presents, many have vowed to make Christmas as exciting as possible for their children.

And what better way to make Christmas exciting for kids than with toys, gadgets, electronic games or cell phones.  With all of the toys, games, videos, etc. available for children, there is a sense that among the hottest items this year (especially for teenagers) will be the video games systems like the Xbox, Play Station and the Wii.

Anyone who has ever played these gaming systems know how addictive they can be.  One can spend hours upon hours playing them and never realize that the entire day has gone by.  Earlier this year a "Play for an hour outdoor" program was launched in the U.S., which encourages kids to take an hour away from the computer, the television, the Internet and video games, and go play outside.

Yes, in the midst of this electronic, computerized age, Americans are calling on parents to get their kids out of the house, at least one hour out of the day to play outside.  The idea came about when it was noticed that the number of obese children in America was on the rise.  The best cure for that was to get kids up and out, running around and playing again.  It seems ironic that these days kids have to be forced to go outside and play.

In The Bahamas, in the past playing outside was the norm.  In fact, before there were video games, computers, or even television, all of the games kids played were outside.  Kids played a variety of games, including knock the can, hide and seek, bat and ball, socking, spinning tops, shooting marbles, climbing trees, building cardboard houses.... and all of these activities included physical activity and exercise.  But the main objective was not to exercise, but to have fun.  Yet, kids got a fair amount of exercise unknowingly.  Back then, kids were not overweight and did not suffer from stage two diabetes.

But the adoption of the American lifestyle has saturated our country and now kids, especially in Nassau, Grand Bahama and some of the Family islands are not getting enough exercise.  No, there is no way to prevent the advancement of technology from invading our lives (and we should not want to stop technological advancement), but we must find a way to introduce our kids to fun and games apart from the computer, the television and video games.  How many kids today have never been to a park?  How many have never climbed a tree or played bat and ball?

The number of over weight children in our country has risen considerably over the past few years and continues to climb.  We should not have to wait for the government to establish a "get out of the house" day for our children.  Parents must find the time to take their kids to parks, play games outside and take part in fun, outdoor activities.  Even as kids continue to play their video games, once they are introduced to outdoor activities, this will go a long way in teaching them that fun (and exercise) can be accomplished right outside their doors.

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