You might have heard the saying, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ It is important to take rest and have fun. We do many things to entertain ourselves. This is called recreation. Recreation is important for health, social and educational benefits. Children enjoy fun and frolic. Fun fairs are a time of enjoyment.Sports and games play a very important role in the growth and development of mind and body of children. Physical exercises are considered to be a must even among holy people. There are two main categories of games. They are indoor and outdoor games.
Indoor Games
Games played within rooms or halls are called indoor games. When the weather is bad, children cannot play outside in the open areas. So, children keep themselves busy with chinese checkers, snakes and ladders, chess and carrom. These are indoor board games.There are many other traditional indoor games like playing with marbles, stones, sticks and sea-shells. Table tennis, riddles, word games, colouring pictures, puzzles and video games are also indoor games.
Outdoor Games
Cricket is the most popular sport in our country. Hockey is our national game. All the sports and games played outside in the yard or ground are called outdoor games.Dog and the bone, blind man’s buff and hide and seek are games children play quite often. Children also like to fly kites and play tops.
Importance of Games
Outdoor games improve health of children as they have lots of fun-filled exercise. Exposure to sunlight helps the body to produce vitamin D. Games help children to improve their concentration. Children learn to follow the rules and thus they become disciplined. Games develop the quality of accepting Group discussion challenges.Children learn to accept failures with positive attitude. They learn to accept defeat. These games help in the mental growth of the children and improve their capacity of thinking. They learn to coordinate all skills at the same time.Word-twisters and spelling games help to strengthen the brain with greater memory power. Some video games teach how to solve problems. Many indoor games teach children how to face the challenges.Children socialise through games and create true friendship. Children learn to work as a team without any difference of caste or gender. Moral values like honesty, punctuality and responsibility are also learned through games.
Women and Games
We must not think that girls cannot play like boys. There are many Indian sportswomen who have made us proud by winning medals. Some such women are-
- Sania Mirza – Tennis
- Mary Kom – Boxing
- Saina Nehwal – Badminton
- Karnam Malleshwari – Weightlifting
- Anju Bobby George – Long jump
- Anjali Bhagwat – Shooting
Recreation at a Fair
Visiting a fair is also a recreational activity. It has many kinds of stalls. People visit fairs to amuse themselves and purchase things. Children love to play games at the game stalls. They also win prizes. Several rides, toy trains and swings are other major attractions. People relish food of different types. Children buy toys and games. Elders buy things of household use.Children enjoy rides like roller coaster, giant wheel, merry-go-round and pirate ship.
At the Circus
Circuses are organised in large covered tents with colourful lights. People buy tickets and enter the tent. There is a ring in the centre. People sit around the rings. A ringmaster acts as a host of the circus. The acrobats show tricks like jumping and somersaulting. They ride on unicycles.The jugglers toss rings and balls in the air. The clowns make everyone laugh with their silly acts and jokes. The trapeze artists perform various acts at a height. They swing from one hanging rod to another, hold each other’s hands and legs and swing upside down. Visiting a circus is an exciting entertainment.
Be Environment-Friendly During Recreation
Do not litter and make the surroundings dirty. While playing, do not harm trees, plants or public property. Do not throw waste here and there. Take care of our mother Earth.
