By Neal Wooten
A lot of people complain that all the technological devices today are eroding critical thinking skills in our kids. Instead of reading, writing, and looking up information in the Encyclopedia, eyes and ears are glued to smartphones watching Tik Tok videos and listening to iTunes.
But I think it’s worse than we know. It’s not just the decline in mental aptitude that we have to worry about, but in hand-eye coordination as well. No longer do kids gather to play Flies and Skinners, Hopscotch, Kick the Can, Run and Hide, and other outdoor games that were staples of entertainment from our youth.
I can remember being obsessed with yo-yos. I bought my first regular Duncan Yo-Yo when I was ten years old and later bought my first Duncan Butterfly model. It took a while, but I eventually mastered walking the dog, rock the baby, and around the world. I thought I was hot stuff.
Clackers, those deadly balls of resin connected to a string, took some skill to master. It was exciting the first time you made it go all the way around, collide with the other ball, and continue as fast as you could, as it sounded like a machine gun. Of course, it was a foregone conclusion that you would eventually make an error and knock yourself out. But, as soon as we regained consciousness, we tried again.
I think it had to be a genius who invented Lawn Darts. I wonder how he pitched that to the toy company. “Okay, what you do is this. Kids will stand 30 feet apart and hurl giant darts with six-inch metal spikes at each other. It should be fun for the entire family, at least what’s left of them.”
I know doctors go through many years of medical school, study a lot, do clinicals, and pass very hard exams. But I’m not that comfortable with the process and would feel better knowing that my doctor can remove the bone from the guy in Operation without touching the metal and setting off the alarm.
This being the week of the 4th of July, let’s not forget about those colorful paper-wrapped packages of gunpowder with short fuses. Dad would buy us a bag of fireworks, hand us his lighter, and tell us to be careful. That was the only instruction we got. I can’t believe I still have all my fingers.
Okay, to be sure, some of the toys from our youths were not completely safe, but they did develop skills and coordination that have stuck with us. If you’re not familiar with some of these toys and games, just Google it.
