We see kids nowadays with their eyes glued on a screen, watching a YouTube video or playing an online game.
With the advancement of technology, every kid who has access to a gadget that can download games and videos can stay at home and play on it for as long as they want.
Gone are the days when you’ll hear a kid squealing with delight and laughter as he chases after a friend while they play a game of make-believe and think that they’re ninjas, and astronauts meant to save the world.
Constantly facing a gadget for a kid isn’t advisable though so as a parent, you need to think of a creative way to get your child unhooked from his technology addiction.
You were once a child yourself so you have an idea what you can have your child and his friends do to pass time and have fun. But if you want a suggestion, then why not purchase a walkie-talkie for the kid and his friends to enjoy?
You’ve had your fair share of fun with walkie-talkies with your own friends so why not let your child have the same sense of enjoyment at that age of his life?
Take away the iPad or phone that he has his hands on and replace it with a walkie-talkie and kick him out of his room or from the house so he could have fun with his buddies outside.
Here are four games that they can play to keep them busy!
1. Hide and Seek
A good old game of hide and seek is always a child’s favorite. This old-time classic is usually played by having one person seeking out the rest of the group who have hidden from different areas of the place from him. You may be wondering how a walkie-talkie can be used in this game.
Give hiders a walkie-talkie of their own to use so they can coordinate their hiding places well and two can’t be found in the same area which will only make it harder for the seeker to find them. You can also give the seeker his own walkie-talkie and have the hider give him directions where he is, or where he isn’t to spice the game up even more.
If you want, you can have two seekers with walkie-talkies, giving the seekers a tool for constant communication to help them find the hiders better and to make the game a bit more difficult for the hiders.
2. Scavenger Hunt
This game can be played by a group of kids in camps or during a birthday party and a walkie-talkie can spice this game up even more. You can use the walkie-talkie to give instructions to each group or give clues on where the next treasure is for them to hunt.
You can also let the kids have the walkie-talkie so they can communicate with their group when they’ve found a treasure.
Having the use of the walkie-talkie as a communication device will also teach the kids the importance of communication and unity when grouped as a team in order for them to win the game. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.
3. Capture the Flag
Capture the flag is a classic competitive game done between two teams. It requires strategy and a good team dynamic.
If your team doesn’t work like a well-oiled machine, then the other team who has a better strategy and better dynamic than yours will win. It’s always better to strategize and come up with the plan to win the game.
But how does a walkie-talkie fit into the equation? There are times during the game that you will have to divert from the original plan which would make the walkie-talkie come in handy if you happen to change the course of the strategy and thereby informing your members of a new strategy the leader has come up with during the game.
4. Role-playing
As much as hide and seek is a classic game for kids to play, nothing beats a good old role-playing game. Kids can pretend to be anyone they want to be, be it a ninja or a secret agent that’s going to save the world from a crazy villain that happens to be a broom. Role-playing exercises the kids’ imagination better than any other game.
Incorporating a walkie-talkie into this game will only make it more fun too, considering that if they’re a group of three, one can pretend to be the villain and the two can use the walkie-talkie to communicate with each other as they journey through figuring out the person that they need to defeat in order to save the world.
Even if it’s just your child and his best friend, they can still use the walkie-talkie to role-play as secret agents or as explorers in search for a treasure but are separated in the jungle. With a child’s imagination, the possibilities are endless.
Conclusion
Let your kid have a childhood by letting him play outside with his friends and letting his imagination run wild with every possible game they could think of. Technology has hindered a child’s ability to imagine a different world by creating an available tool that contains everything they could ever want.
Still, one thing that technology could ever offer is what the outdoors and a hearty imagination could bring to a child’s growth.
If you’re not sure how you will be able to get your child to have fun outside, maybe enticing him with a walkie-talkie will do the trick. Play with him using the walkie-talkie and let him see that there’s more the world can offer than a gadget ever could.
Every kid deserves to have a childhood; every kid deserves to have fun outdoors with the fresh breeze of the summer air kissing their tanned skin. Let the kid enjoy his youth while he still has time to.