Beyond The Backpack
Written: Monday, October 11, 2010PAST IT
Traditional childhood pastimes such as adventure role play, climbing trees, playing in the park and swimming in a lake are all things of the past, a study revealed yesterday (Thurs).
The activities - a fond memory of growing up for everyone now over the age of 35 - have fallen by the wayside at the cost of computer games and the internet.
The death of rough and tumble outdoor pursuits came to light in a report of 3,000 parents which revealed only three in ten kids have ever CLIMBED A TREE.
And researchers found fewer than ten per cent have taken part in games like 'kiss chase' and 'stuck in the mud'.
The trend emerged as two thirds of frustrated parents said the advent of computer games and Facebook has led to a generation of children without any sense of adventure.
Yesterday (Thurs), a spokesman for Beyond the Backpack Foundation, said: ''We were once a proud nation of explorers who voyaged across oceans discovering new worlds.
''But it seems kids are lacking a sense for 'real' adventure, instead they live adventures through television or computer games.
''Brits need to get out and have new adventures in their everyday lives - big or small and that's why we are inviting people to apply for funding to experience more adventure in their lives.''
The nationwide survey was carried out to mark the launch of Dora the Explorer's Beyond the Backpack Foundation which has been set up to encourage Brits to have more adventures.
If found 65 per cent of mums and dads claimed their children lacked creativity and would have more fun without computers and new technology.
Instead youngsters spend the majority of their day surfing the internet, watching television or plugged into their iPods.
And unlike their parents who spent hours playing outdoors, 92 per cent of kids today have never slept under the stars or swum in a lake.
Seventy per cent haven't ever played 'make believe' with less than ten per cent saying their children have asked for clothes to dress up in.
Only one in twenty parents said their child has been interested in flying kites and only nine per cent said their children wanted to cook on an open fire.
The survey also revealed that more than half of parents wish they had been more adventurous and taken a gap year when they were young.
And they also hold people with adventurous spirits like explorers and inventors in higher regard than musicians, actors and politicians.
* Brits can have their adventurous dreams realised by visiting www.dorabeyondthebackpackfoundation.org.
