I Wish I Could Draw

There's an ad on television at the moment promoting a new 'super toy' for kids, it's an interactive TV game. To make it work the child has to pedal on a bike, if they stop pedalling it stops working. Great idea...or not. Instead of parking the kid in front of the TV all day with a packet of chips and a soft drink, parents can rest assured that little Johnny or Jenny is getting a good cardio workout while enjoying the wonders of multimedia recreation. I think they are going to sell millions of this thing. First time I saw it, I thought what a pity this wasn't around a couple of years ago. But now I'm not so sure. The kids now aged between 7-12 are all at risk of becoming obese, with RSI (repetitive strain injury) from constant toggling with Play Station controls. So, according to media reports, there's going to be a load of fat teenagers with deformed thumbs wandering around in the not too distant future. But imagine what the now 3-4 year olds are going to look like. I'm seeing entire kindy classes with massively bulked up legs (from years of pedalling), and underdeveloped, atrophied little upper bodies (except maybe the thumbs, they'll still be big and muscular), and in generations to come, they will probably have huge heads to accomodate a huge brain (this toy also claims to increase brain power). I really wish I could draw. Whatever happened to monkey bars and trips to the park. And here's a novel idea...what about interacting with the children personally instead of relying on a disembodied electronic voice to teach them.