The advancement in technology has made a lot of children so dependent on their gadgets and the internet. Nowadays, children are always glued to the screen playing video games, watching cartoons, movies, and other fun activities thereby losing interest in playing with other children outside their online fun games.
I grew up in the Eastern part of Nigeria and growing up as a child was fun with lots of traditional games mostly played outside our home while connecting with other children nearby. I remember skipping my meals while trying to catch up with these games because it's always interesting and one can hardly get tired of them. One thing about connecting with other kids is that you will get to learn more from them and also build your social life which in long run, remains valuable 👌.
The summer holiday is still very much on and it will be fun for kids to experience some of these recommended traditional games below, they can get involved with other children if possible and have an outdoor game aside from their usual online games.
- Tinko Tinko:
Girls especially loved this game. It involves two partners facing each other, while the theme song is sung by both as the game goes on. With hands held halfway up, they begin the game which involves interchanging of hands front and back and slamming of hands by both partners.
- Fire on the mountain:
Kids are arranged into two circles, one with one more member than the other. When a signal is given, they begin to run in opposite directions singing “fire on the mountain, run, run, run” until a whistle signaling – “fire is up!” is blown. Then each player tries to get a partner from the other circle. After the scramble, the player without a partner is penalized to do certain stunts or made to squat in the center of the circle.
- Who will be my friend?:
Children hold hands and form a circle while one of them stands in their midst closing his or her eyes. Then they start chanting the game song. In the last line of the rhyme, the child opens his or her eyes and picks one person from the circle. The child picks, stands in the circle, and repeats the same pattern and the game goes on.
- Ikpo Oga:
This is mostly a girl's game. If there are even number of girls, they divide themselves into two equal groups. Two girls come out as the leaders of each group and choose from the rest of the children the ones they want to be part of their team. But if there are just two or three children, each plays solo.
The game involves clapping hands, tapping both feet at different intervals, and singing the theme song. The children decide the number they will stop at; it might be 50, 100, or any number that pleases them.
You are to close, open, or raise either of your legs and if your opponent does the same movement you did, she gets to play next. The person who played to the end number first wins the game.
It's quite competitive but very fun I know which I played most as a child during my leisure times.
- Football:
This is a regular but popular game. It is played all around the globe by both males and females but I must say young boys were the first people to start playing the game. Don't quote me wrong because I included it in my list of traditional games knowing fully well it is an international game. When I was a kid, football is a game I know boys enjoyed playing and still do. There have been a lot of differences, changes, and improvements between the football players then and the one being played now. Everything about present-day football is modernized; Football is now played at stadiums while it was always played on the streets then. There is specific clothing with numbers written on them, there is a coach for each club, and also medical services are available in case of injury and other emergencies.
Football has improved in the area that competitions followed by awards are used to motivate players; there are championships and premier leagues. Football has made it to the top of all games. It's one of the main topics for discussion on TV, on radios, and in newspapers with different clubs for people to make their choice.
There are still other traditional games children can engage themselves with like skipping rope, WHOT, LUDO, Ayo, Tug of war, etc. All are so fun and interesting.
Thanks for reading !!!
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