In the good old days before the X box and the Wii came along, it often took plenty of energy and lots of imagination for children to play. Back then toys didn't require 10 AA batteries to make them walk, talk or sing. Nor did they need an instruction manual the size of a phone book, or an Internet connection to even begin.
There was hopscotch, British Bulldog and tag in the playground. Weebles that wobbled and puppets called Sooty and Sweep. Little boys played with bows and arrows and little girls poured tea for their dolls. Dress-up was all the rage and the Rubik's Cube was still taking the world by storm. Yes, long before the age of the couch potato, playing required friends, fresh air and wide-open spaces. Trees were for climbing up, bushes for hiding in and fields for racing across - imaginary horse at the ready. Games had no rules except those you invented and played out inside your head.
Sadly, due to advances in technology and a world crippled by fear, these days are pretty much gone. Instead children now play under their parent's watchful eye and seldom get a chance to really spread their wings. They spend more and more time indoors, watching the world unfold on a flat screen and interacting with distant friends in a virtual world.
It is this sedentary lifestyle, coupled with a modern day diet of fatty junk food and a decline in physical education lessons at schools that is resulting in one of the biggest health problems that world now faces - childhood obesity. Of course it is understandable that all parents want to protect their children from predators, broken bones, bumps and bruises. But by wrapping them up in cotton wool, parents also run the risk of overprotecting their children - from themselves.
At Treehouse Life, we are all about steering children away from technology and TV and getting them out into the fresh air and back to childhood basics. We support healthy living and the idea that exercise can be fun. So never mind those extra sports lessons after school or having to endure overpriced dance classes for tots, at Treehouse Life we can offer so much more.
The worlds that we create are a safe, yet exciting place for children to discover their own limitations and to push all boundaries. They are places where your child can run through the air and fly through the leaves, leap from great heights and climb mountainous peaks. Places in which they are free to delve into their imagination and create new lands inside their heads. Places where they can laugh, learn and be free - where they can just be. Our magical adventure worlds offer a return to the past, and a chance to enjoy the sort of childhood that every parent wishes their child could experience.
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