No Place for Play

Ever since I had learnt how to walk and talk, I spent countless hours playing with the other kids from the neighborhood. Outdoor playtime was all I could think of all day. First, it was playing marbles by the StreetSide. After starting to go to school, my playtime moved to the local playgrounds. I remember being chased by my mom for returning late from the field. She would come and grab me by the ears, dragging me home to do my homework. My teachers used to say that I’ll fail at my School Secondary Certificate exam as my mind was always in the playground. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the thrills and vigor of childhood playtime with mates. I passed my SSC, then HSC – all while continuing to be my version of a Maradona or a Wasim Akram, depending on the game I had been into at the time. Playgrounds instill practical wisdom in us that books or Youtube alone can never teach. Playing sport helps children learn to control their emotions and channel negative feelings in a positive way. It also helps children to develop patience and understand that it can take a lot of practice to improve both their physical skills and what they do in school, according to child psychologists. Kids learn to make new friends, deal with disappointment of defeats and most of all, have fun while learning valuable life skills. It is the duty of the civil authority to ensure that our young ones have sufficient space to play and grow as balanced human beings. And it is up to us grownups to fight for the rights of our future generations. We want a healthy, happy, and proactive populace to lead our nation to the future. Taking away the playgrounds in modern urbanized Bangladesh will only produce self-absorbed and zombified youth who are frail of body and mind. Is this the nation we fought for with lives of our fathers and brothers?