Enhancing Childrens Health Lifestyle through Desirable Durable Toys

Abstract

Background: According to WHO, 60% of related factors to individual health and quality of life are correlated to lifestyle. Many people, children included, follow unhealthy lifestyles which lead them to major challenges that threaten their physical, mental, social and emotional health (Farhud, 2015). And these unhealthy lifestyles as studied in this paper are causing the reduction of quality of their lives. Finding a solution to this problem is crucial as it will help children build
the foundation for an entire lifetime of healthy practices. Problem: These lifestyles have currently made children antisocial, opt to entertain themselves using electronic devices, physically inactive exposing them to health risks, lose touch with their culture, be less innovative when it comes to creating their own games and lack common values such as gratitude, empathy and many more. Objective: The main objective of the study was to explore the indigenous Kenyan games and Agikuyu artifacts and how they can be utilised to produce desirable durable toys for the children which will enhance healthier lifestyles. Design: using qualitative and quantitative methods, the study used a case study design. Setting: The study was carried out in Sun-valley estate phase 1 located in Lang’ata constituency found in Nairobi, Kenya. Subjects: The subjects of this study were adults and children between the ages of 6-12 years. Results: the research results revealed that 100% of the respondents feel that children residing in the urban areas of Kenya are currently living both a healthy and unhealthy lifestyle. A majority of their daily activities would include spending time on screens that are either on televisions, phones, computers, tablets, play gadgets or music gadgets. Conclusion: The study concluded that creating desirable toys to attract children to voluntarily engage in games while still preserving a part of Kenya’s identity through the use of their indigenous games to inform the toys to be created and the Agikuyu artifacts as an inspiration was a way to better children’s lives.