With children becoming increasingly consumed by the use of phones and laptops, it has become important for parents to devote time to engage them in natural skill development and to encourage stimulating conversations, say experts.

Ankur Garg, founder of Masti Ki Pathshaala — a free play format for children, where they indulge in well-researched and award-winning board games — says children aren’t inclined towards group play, team building and peer involvement nowadays.

“Our children are getting lost in the virtual world which definitely is not something as a parent I would like to accept. I want to give my children the same learning of team building, growing bonds with friends and indulging in constructive playful activities which we grew up with in our childhood.

“Masti ki Paathshaala is our small little initiative to let children grow up with natural skills and not staying stuck to gadgets and screens,” Garg said.

Taking off from the routine classroom learning concept, his Delhi- NCR based initiative believes in travelling to different locations every Sunday and bring alive the elements of fun, learning, play and togetherness.

“This helps them develop visual memory, visual dexterity, analytical and logical skills, lateral and creative thinking, fine motor and gross motor skills, communication team building and community engagement,” Garg explained.

Ahead of Children’s Day on Tuesday, Holiday Inn Hotels and Holiday Inn Resorts introduced the Chatterbox Conversation Cards, a family-friendly activity for getting the conversations going during holidays.

Manvi Malhotra, founder, The Counsellors Clinic, said: “Today, parents are concerned about their children’s over-reliance on digital technology resulting in poor communications skills. Additionally, many parents feel that in the age of smartphones, they don’t have enough face-to-face conversations with their children.

“This is especially true on vacation, when it is common to see children on their phones during meal times or whilst relaxing in the hotel room.”

Malhotra stressed on the importance of “free-flowing conversations” to spark a child’s curiosity, develop their logical reasoning skills and give them the opportunity to hone their interpersonal skills.