emember your childhood days, those days when you could go to Coney Park, Coconut Park Fun Land, school fairs or just about anywhere in Kingston and there were games just for you?
Those were fun days and it was 'cool' to be a kid, but nowadays there are a lot less places for kids to go.
While teenagers have several clubs, events and the malls, amongst others things at their luxury, our primary level schoolers have seemingly been left isolated.
Quite often a lot of teenagers get in on some of the fun that is meant for older folk, an option not available to our primary schoolers.
With the widescale introduction of game consoles like Nintendo 64, Playstation and others, game arcades have somewhat lost their sting.
According to Sherene Wallace, the mother of a nine-year-old girl, there are definitely not enough outdoor activities for the young.
She says that apart from the occasional movie at the cinema or the every now and then fair, she and her daughter are forced to stay home.
The children usually get a kick out of the circuses that visit the island. Unfortunately they only get to see the clowns, animals and acrobats seldomly since there are no local-based circuses on the island.
Gone are the days when most primary and preparatory schools usually had fun days at Coconut Park. Coney Park came about and did a short stint and died of unknown causes. The grounds are now occupied by the Hydel Group of Schools.
While there seems to be quite a number of children-oriented entertainment on radio and TV, that does not hold true for the great outdoors. It is no secret that most children love going out, but are there places for them to go?
Miss Wallace also added that Jamaica pales in comparison to America when it comes to keeping children entertained. Apart from the many amusement parks and facilities at the malls for the children to let loose, there are many parks in the United States where a child can go just to play with their friends.
Apart from Devon House and Hope Botanical Gardens - which do not have any slides or swings - here in Jamaica, parks are a novelty.
Grace Silvera, who is mother to a four and an eight year old (both boys), agrees with Ms Wallace that there is not enough entertainment in the great outdoors for the children.
However, she also stated that fun for children is quite expensive to finance. This, she says, is because apart from purchasing food, most of the things that they see when 'sporting' they want to have.
Amina Blackwood-Meeks, a communications consultant and a storyteller, shares the view that there is not enough outdoor entertainment for children.
"We very seldom think about our children in that regard," she noted. She opined that the little entertainment thereis is always combined with everything else that is provided for adults.
For example, a promoter of a 'Food Fair' would set up a little bounce-a-bout or a little storytelling booth in a corner and promote the event as one for the entire family. She added that it was extremely important that the point be made that the entertainment that should be provided for the children must be of the sort that will edify their easily-influenced minds.
"We need to promote fun and learning simultaneously, there is not enough linking of entertainment to education to allow our children to think outside the box and to stimulate critical thinking at an early age," emphasised Mrs. Blackwood-Meeks.
Few programmes
While she is of the opinion that there is not a sufficient amount of healthy entertainment for the young, she lauded the few programmes and institutions that do cater for the youngsters.
The renowned storyteller said she was particularly impressed with the 'Reggae For Kids' programme, which is hosted by Deon Mattis. Likewise she lauded the efforts of the Jamaica Musical Theatre Company's Junior Theatre.
While there are radio and television programmes for kids it is obvious that healthy outdoor events for the children are lacking. Many parents say they forsake the few that are present because of their unhealthy nature.
According to a few of Jamaica's promoters, a reason why they do not organise more child-oriented programme is because these investments do not yield much of a profit. It is no mystery that it is all about money - even at the expense of the kids' fun.
According to Tommy Cowan of Glory Music, parents are of the mindset that they should not pay more than a certain amount for their children to enter a venue.
Production costs
With the low price tag for children's events taken into consideration, Mr. Cowan pointed out that suppliers will not give promoters a break in prices just because the event is geared towards children. ]
Therefore the production cost for both shows will probably be the same.
The only difference would probably be the money spent on entertainers, as entertainers for adult shows will cost more.
He further explained that the chances of making a profit from a child-oriented event is much less.
"There is a greater chance of recouping your investment from a show for adults in comparison to an event for children, therefore the best thing to do is to sometimes try to incorporate the two," Cowan says.
Promoter Worrell King, however, thinks children are quite viable. He says most promoters shy away from promoting events geared towards children because they do not view the market as one that is lucrative.
The music industry also offers little in the way of child-oriented entertainment. Among the select few musicians that have arranged songs for children is JC Lodge. She did an album entitled Sing and Learn.
While singer Nadine Sutherland agrees that the music industry is not really child-friendly, she stated that people should not expect too much from the artistes.
She said that while it would be wonderful gesture for an artiste like Elephant Man to do a 'kiddies' song, it is not his responsibility since they are not his target audience.
She added that parents are the ones that should make sure that their children are exposed to appropriate material and not to things that will impactly negatively on their upbringing.
Sutherland went on to further say she believes that there are adequate facilities to keep a child's social life buzzing.
"There is more than enough activity geared towards children these days and they have more than enough than we did when growing up. I don't think they need much more than what is available," noted Ms Sutherland.
She told The Sunday Gleaner that though she has no children of her own, she spends a lot of time with her nieces; Ashley (2 years old), Arielle (3 years old), Janelle (8 years old), Kimberly (11 years old) and her nephew George (11 years old).
Other than going to the parties of their friends who are in their age bracket, she pointed out that almost every fast-food place has a play pen. Therefore one can kill to birds with one stone - fill them with food and fun, she said.
- File
A youngster shows off his dance moves.
