Today, weekends in the city means visiting shopping centres, eating out or visiting theme parks.

Malaysia is now among the top 20 trading nations. According to the Programme for International Student Assessment, (Pisa) our children's reading, mathematics and science skills are ranked 55th, 57th and 52nd against those of other countries but we cannot make light of what we have also lost.

Between 1966 and 1972, I lived in a remote area in Besut, Terengganu, when my father was posted to Sekolah Kebangsaan Darau as a headmaster. Father rented a one-room wooden house. There was no television or electricity but for all I can remember, life was absolutely exciting.

We children would have good fun in our backyard, a small piece of land covered with lallang which belonged to our neighbour.

In front of our house, there was another small piece of land that belonged to another neighbour, filled with thick grass for the cows to graze.

We would pass our time watching the cows graze, giving them water in a bucket if the weather was hot. Accompanied by our neighbour's children, we would spend most our time roaming and running back and forth between the backyard and the front of our house.

How different it is today. Now, most families in the Klang Valley, including mine, have to restrict children from going outside alone for safety reasons.

It is sad to see children today struggling to find a place to play. A child needs to play as a restless child will have shortcomings.

In a way, children today have a less safe and spontaneous social life. Hence, we see stressed teenagers, teenagers running away from home and other juvenile-related issues.

In the 1960s, we walked everywhere. Walking to school was fun as we did it with friends under the rubber trees. Then after school, we walked in another direction for religious classes.

More:
LIFE THEN AND NOW: Growing up in carefree times