'iPad kids' reluctant to return to traditional entertainment

Ma Mei is considering buying an iPad for her three-year-old daughter as a gift for International Children's Day, which falls on Saturday. But the child's grandmother has objected, saying she should spend more time outdoors instead of playing with a tablet.

"I played a lot of traditional games with my friends when I was a child, such as hide-and-seek and skipping rope. The games were simple and fun. But the times change, iPads and iPhones are popular now and my daughter likes them," said Ma, an editor of a Beijing-based magazine.

Ma said her daughter likes to play with her iPhone, "but the screen is too small, I want to buy an iPad for her. It might be better for her eyes."

"I cannot agree. I saw my granddaughter sitting on the sofa and fixing her eyes on the iPhone before. I wish she would play games and communicate with her peers instead of being isolated at home," the child's grandmother You Xinling said.

Ling Yan, who lives in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, said she often sees children playing games on their mobile devices when out in public.

Her 11-year-old daughter is a big fan of mobile games as well. "She cajoles her father and I to lend her our iPad to play with every day after school," Ling said.

"I want to take her to participate in some outdoor activities during weekends, but she doesn't like to go out and shows no interest in playing with others," Ling said.

"With video games becoming more popular, traditional entertainment seen in the 1980s and 1990s has disappeared. People rarely see children playing old-fashioned games anymore," said Guo Hu, director of the Ningxia regional educational department.