IN an attempt to keep screen time to a minimum at home, I find myself coming up with imaginative and adventurous ways to entertain my children. From using bed sheets to erect a camping tent in the lounge to making homemade kites and jets, this is now my daily routine.
The sad reality though, is that the games we grew up with are no more. There were no DSTV or YouTube in our day with a variety of kiddie channels to choose from as most of our time was spent outdoors. PlayStation, Ipads and Iphones were unheard of at that time. We read, we allowed our imagination to run wild and we played outside.
I remember many a day practicing long distance running and hurdling over chairs perfectly aligned on dad’s freshly cut lawn. I would idolise the graceful Gabriela Sabatini on Centre Court in Wimbledon and imitate the slick and agile moves of Jonty Rhodes at point in our backyard.
Every day was an exciting escapade back then and I now find myself reminiscing more about my childhood as I try to raise my own little ones.
So here are a few of my favourite toys and games growing up……..
‘House house’ games
Playing mummy and daddy was perhaps our favourite pastime. All we needed were a few cousins and we could recreate an entire family. We used our imagination and imitated the ones we loved and those who disciplined us. We didn’t need a whole lot of props. We spent hours cooking in the sand and entertaining our guests. The adventures and story lines we came up with were so entertaining. What we didn’t know at the time was that pretend play was an important cognitive skill for developing creative thinking as well as our communication and social skills – something critically missing today.
Marbles, tops, yo-yos and skipping ropes
Maybe it was the myriad of colours or the glass finish but we were obsessed with marbles. I had quite an impressive collection and stored it in a glass jar. As for yo-yos, I practised daily until I mastered the moves up and down and side to side. I was so proud of my collector Coca-Cola yo-yo, which I still have to this day.
Hopscotch and Biscuits
Who would have thought that a simple drawing on the concrete floor would create the best game ever? The best memories were created playing Hopscotch and ‘Biscuits’ with my sister. We had crushed stones in our driveway and
I would neatly mark the play area straight after school. For hopscotch, we would mark the concrete part of the driveway. A flat stone, a hop and jump was all it took to have hours of fun.
Karaoke with hairbrushes
Fortunately we grew up in a musical family and in church. My dad sang and played the guitar so we had fond memories of performing duets with him from a selection of hymns and classics. Every Christmas Eve, we would snuggle around dad on his bed as he sang and played Christmas carols. My sister and I would whip out mum’s roller brushes as microphones to perform on our make-believe stage with well-choreographed dance moves, of course.
Cabbage Patch Kids
A Cabbage Patch Kid was no ordinary doll. This was a special baby, adopted from the BabyLand General Hospital where all Cabbage Patch kids live and play until someone adopts them. My Cabbage Patch kid came with adoption papers, which I personally signed as a pledge to take care of her. Her name was Gabriella. From caring, loving and changing her to plaiting her hair, I spent hours with Gabby. I still have my Cabbage Patch Kid to this day – 33 years later and she is in great condition!
Nothing beats the simplicity and sheer joy of our childhood – a generation where techno gadgets did not exist. Load-shedding could not have come at a better time – it forces us as parents to cut screen time and initiate imaginative play.
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