Traditional games reduce gadget use among children: Minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Arifah Fauzi, stated that one of the main activities for the 2025 National Children's Day celebration is playing traditional games to help reduce the influence of gadget use in children's lives.

"Today, we are inviting children to play traditional games so they can shift their attention away from gadgets. We can play together instead," she said during a Car Free Day (CFD) event held in Jakarta on Sunday as part of the 2025 National Children's Day celebration.

She explained that the key activities for the July 23, 2025 commemoration include the "Great Indonesian Children's Exercise" initiated by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, traditional games, singing traditional songs and performing traditional arts, storytelling or narrating local hero tales from each region, and free health check-ups.

The 2025 National Children's Day main event will be held in Indragiri Hulu, Riau Province, on July 23, 2025.

However, regions across Indonesia are also encouraged to host National Children's Day celebrations at their respective schools.

"In the past, the National Children's Day celebration was centralized in one province or city, where child representatives from across Indonesia would gather in one location and meet the President to deliver the Voice of Indonesian Children. This year, we are taking a different approach by decentralizing the celebration. Each school in Indonesia will hold their own event," she added.

The CFD event for the 2025 National Children's Day was attended by Selvi Ananda Gibran Rakabuming, wife of the Vice President of Indonesia, Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar, Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education Abdul Mu'ti, Chair of Seruni Kabinet Merah Putih Tri Tito Karnavian, and several other Seruni members, including Annisa Pohan and Katharine Grace Fadli Zon.