DID you see that scientific report yesterday that was devastating in its assessment of Scotland’s youngsters?
Effectively the researchers were saying that our children spend too much time on their smart phones and computers and long term that leads to problems of obesity and lack of fitness.
They could’ve added that an average of two hours a day on a phone, tablet or laptop screen can make some children mentally ill, and many parents rightly fear the influence of social media and the Internet, not to mention the darker elements which are buried there.
The Kicker is not one of those people who believes that we can bring back the halcyon days when children could play in the streets quite safely and organise mass bounce games of football that often took up the entire length of road.
For a start, there are just too many cars on the road, and any child playing on the streets is likely to be arrested and reported to social services.
The answer is not to go backwards but to look forwards and create a culture where football is not seen as a chore, as so many children do, but as something worth playing.
That involves the whole of football and the education system plus all the local authorities and the Scottish Government in a joint effort to promote football as a healthy pastime which can be enjoyed by boys and girls alike.
In one of his last interviews, the late great Hibs manager Eddie Turnbull spoke of his joy at seeing youngsters out playing on a Sunday morning in the local park, every one of them kitted out in a full strip and with proper boots provided for, in the main, by the club that he was watching.
Eddie had it right. Kids do not want to be playing out in the streets or on muddy pitches in the pouring rain – any computer game would beat that hands down.
What we need are more indoor facilities, including child-sized pitches with good 4 or 5G surfaces, and we need professional coaches to make sure that children first of all enjoy playing football, and if they are good at it, be encouraged to develop their talent.
It doesn’t take a brain the size of a planet to work out that if you are going to make football – or any sport –more attractive to young people then you really have to work at it.
The football authorities have tried and there has been backing for grassroots football for many years, but clearly it isn’t working if we still have such problems with children.
Nor should it just be football that children are encouraged to take up, though the national sport is the main one that can actually bring youngsters on to a new level of fitness and health more quickly than any other.
Pardon the cynicism, but there are no votes in kids football as we approach the general election. Watch the political parties dart for cover in the face of evidence that football and sport in general, is not getting the support that is needed to stop kids becoming a lost generation addicted tablet of the electronic variety.
It’s not too late for football to change the game, is it?
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here