In this day and age when a number of parents leave parenting work to smartphones and tablets, kids tend to miss out on a lot of basic childhood activities like playing in the park, learning how to ride a bicycle, or just meeting new friends – in person.
For arts and crafts teacher Liji Abdullah, regulating children’s use of gadgets and engaging them in fun activities like painting or drawing could be instrumental in developing a child’s imagination and creativity.“Nowadays, some parents give electronic items as gifts to their children, which I believe could deprive kids of the opportunity the usual physical activity that they should be doing like playing outdoors or engaging in creative work that would help develop their imagination,” Abdullah told Gulf Times Friday on the sidelines of a mini market organised by QatArt Handmade Community at Katara – The Cultural Village.
Handcrafted items add colour to QatArt's mini market held at Katara - The Cultural Village. PICTURES: Shemeer Rasheed
A large crowd visits the mini market
A few samples of glass painting at the workshop
She added: “It is the parents’ responsibility to involve themselves in these valuable activities. During the weekends, rather than just staying in bed, parents should bring their children to venues such as Katara and other places in Qatar so they could immerse themselves in the many activities that these places offer.”
Abdullah, who specialises in paper craft, clay art, jewellery designing, and fabric painting, among others, was available for a glass painting workshop on Friday as part of QatArt’s mini market.
She also holds workshops for institutions like Qatar Foundation, Children Education Centre, and Qatar Charity’s Friends Cultural Centre (FCC), to name a few. Only recently, Abdullah taught 31 students during a four-day ‘Craft Camp’ at FCC.
“I usually teach the ladies and children but I love engaging with kids because it gives me the chance to impart valuable inputs that would play a significant role in the development of their childhood.
According to Abdullah, conducting workshops are also opportunities for her to raise awareness such as recycling and protecting the environment.
"I always make it a point to teach children how to re-use discarded items such as glass bottles, newspapers and magazines, as well as other paper products, and transform them into works of art," she pointed out.
QatArt board member Swapna Namboodiri said the group will be holding a workshop for its members on Sunday at the Doha Festival City, in collaboration with Hobby House Qatar.
The workshop aims to provide inputs on branding, marketing, and techniques to optimise the display of products.
Namboodiri added that QatArt has several plans for more markets in the coming weeks before the onset of the summer season.