By Kim Atienza
CHINESE garter, langit-lupa, luksong baka, patintero. Do you remember playing these games when you were kids? Lalo na ngayong malapit na ang summer, panahon ng tag-init.
Thirty years ago, who would’ve thought we would need to encourage kids to play these native games?
Kids nowadays stay at home, playing video games or watch TV. This has been closely linked to the increase in child obesity, and reduced muscle development and balance, this according to an article titled “14 ways to encourage kids to play outdoors” by the Leave No Child Indoors Collaborative of Greater Cincinnati.
Encouraging kids to abandon television and their video games take time and effort but the benefits and the joy of seeing your child happy, healthy, and independent is surely worth it.
Encourage the kid by being there. If you don’t have the capacity to play the above mentioned native games, just being there watching them enjoy can be a great encouragement.
Invest in buying them the tools and items needed in playing these native games or better yet try to create some with them. The experience of making a Chinese garter out of old clothes can really boost a kid’s eagerness to play Chinese garter. Try gathering old slippers and cans with the kid to encourage him/her to play tumbang preso.
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More useful tips from the book “Living With Folk Wisdom,” by Abercio V. Rotor, PH.D.:
Water remains cool in earthen pot (calamba or caramba) even in hot weather. Notice that the earthen pot “perspires” because it is porous. Like sweat it keeps the body cool. Cooling is the after-effect of evaporation. Fanning increases the rate of evaporation, so with cooling.
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You can tell if your lemonade needs more sugar even without tasting it. Seeds of calamansi (Citrus microcarpa) rises to the top as buoyancy (specific gravity) is increased. Thus the more we put sugar, the more the seeds will float. If they settle at the bottom, the lemonade needs more sugar.
Buoyancy is also explained by the fact that it is easier to swim in seawater than in the swimming pool.
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Send your questions on anything and everything to Kuya Kim through my Twitter account @kuyakim_atienza using #AlaminKayKuyaKim.
Ating tuklasin ang mga bagay-bagay na di niyo pa alam. Walang ’di susuungin, lahat aalamin. Ito po si Kuya Kim, Matanglawin, only here in TEMPO.
