Dubai: “Can I go down and play cricket for half an hour?”

“No, not now — it’s almost time for dinner. And who’ll you play with?”

“With you … OK, so may be just practice some catches, in the parking lot?”

“What about your homework?”

“I just have the French assignment left. And the maths homework,” is the answer with a sheepish grin.

“All right then, you know the drill — 10 minutes in the parking lot and back …”

And so it plays out, almost every other night of the working week, this refrain of a conversation with my 9-year-old son. It’s often followed by a similar nightly plea and compromise with his twin sister.

Parental guilt and lack of quality family time, absence of ample physical activities for children, their obsession with Minecraft instead of playing fields … we have all heard it before.

But as a working parent of three children growing up in an environment lacking adequate recreational opportunities, I realise how harshly this can affect the young.

Specially when the other spouse is also a working parent.

Thankfully, my children are not obese — but when I look back at my childhood and how being unable to play outdoors for at least a couple of hours would definitely ruin my day, I cringe at the raw deal being meted out to them.

With changing social structures and the omnipresent temptation of technology, time-starved parents with extended working hours are finding it increasingly difficult to cater to young children without the luxury of an extended family support, let alone build a dedicated daily time for the little ones’ recreation.

It’s therefore no surprise that low physical activity among children is rapidly becoming the social norm in most countries, as outlined in a World Health Organisation (WHO) report. And it’s really frightening that 84 per cent of girls and 78 per cent of boys in the pre-teen and teenage groups fail to muster a basic 60 minutes of moderate daily physical activity, as recommended by the WHO.

So when do the children actually get to play and smell some fresh air, after all?

Over the weekends, mostly. And in bits and bobs in schools. Or in special sports classes — mostly conducted in climate-controlled indoor facilities.

Some would call it the by-product of social progress, some would find it retrograde — but this is the reality in cities around the world.

But is that enough?

Absolutely not.

While we might emphatically pin our hopes on the so-called “whole-of-government approach” touted by the WHO and expect a dramatic ban on sugary and sinful food and fizzy drinks, or the government to devise a miraculous strategy for healthier children, the reality is quite different.

Like charity, our support and responsibility for raising physically active and healthy children begins at home.

According to a survey of more than 1,000 parents conducted in the UK by ICM, around 72 per cent were exasperated that they did not have enough time to play with their children.

More than 50 per cent blamed work in specific and the pressures of modern life in general for limiting their time with children, while nearly 34 per cent of children said homework often prevented them from playing, as per the survey commissioned by Play England.

As the cliché about Jack being a dull boy goes, denied the adequate time and opportunity for regular physical activities, children not only feel bored and miserable but it eventually impacts their growth and motor skills as well. The ability for children to play is not just integral to the enjoyment of childhood, but also vital for their health, learning and development.

As for my son, I have scheduled some time out for him this weekend to watch the former legends of cricket in action at the Masters’ Champion League.

That should keep him off the daily bargaining spree for a couple of weeks, fingers crossed!