Chennai

As Anitha’s two-and-half- yearold son refused to sit idle even for a second, the worried mother took him to a paediatrician, who advised her to look at ways to channelise his energy and suggested she enrolled him in a play gym. Anitha says, “He said my son had to be engaged in some physical activity for at least two hours a day and though I am a stayat-home mother, I personally cannot engage him for that long.” 

Similarly, Sujatha, mother of a six-year-old, says her daughter’s social skills had improved drastically after she began indulging in physical activities at a play gym in Adyar. Play gyms include activity corners as well as outdoor spaces for rope slides, wall climbing, trampoline and water corner. 

Sanchitha Vinodh, who runs Weebees that takes in children aged below eight years, including toddlers, says the games are designed in such a way that it keeps them physically active. She says, “Children live in isolated spaces and most often, there aren’t enough spaces to keep them occupied outdoors. 

As a result, they are hooked to gadgets and cartoons. Here, apart from channelising their energy, they also become socially active, as they interact with other children playing around them.” The idea is to keep battery-operated toys and games to the minimum, says Jayashree Anand of Kartwheel. She adds that though play areas are available in malls, there is a constraint for space and crowd. 

“In Chennai, the other disadvantage is the weather and there aren’t many options for younger children,” she says. These gyms charge Rs 200 and above for a two-hour session. Dr Benny Benjamin, consultant paediatrician, says promoting physical activity is a welcome idea as lack of activity can trigger obesity among children, apart from increasing the risk of hypertension and diabetes when they grow up. 

“What one needs to take care of is to engage children in what suits their age. I wonder if these places are equipped with the right kind of staff to decide on that,” he says.

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