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PLAYING OUTSIDE IS GOOD FOR KIDS
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Sondi Stepenuk
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IS PLAY PASSÉ? Find out about the benefits of good, old-fashioned, outdoor fun.
When you look back on your childhood, do you have memories of playing outside until the sun went down? Memories of leaving the house after breakfast and not seeing your front door until dinner was on the table?
If you do, then you must be over 30. Many of today’s kids no longer have that luxury. They are so scheduled with classes, sports, music lessons, etc. that there’s just no time to run off and be as carefree as we were in the past. And parents are afraid to let their children out of their sight, too. Understandably. The media has freaked us out beyond repair, so we want everything supervised, whether it’s indoors or out.
Lacking the past freedoms to run wild with abandon for hours every day, many children have migrated indoors. They watch tv, play Nintendo, surf the Internet, or play with their Wii. The great outdoors suddenly isn’t so great anymore. But the good news is—parents are trying to take the outdoors back.
Heather MacPherson, a Brookside mother of Zoe, 3, and Riley, 18 months, believes that “when children are outside, they are constantly exploring, and they are open to learning, which affects both their physical and mental development.” To ensure that her children spend lots of time outdoors, Heather includes outdoor activities in their daily routine. “Living in Brookside, my girls have an adventure every day walking home from school. Then, on the weekends, my husband and I turn errands into outdoor activities with the girls, errands such as walking to Larchmont to go to the bank or visiting many of the other stores along our route.”
Jennifer Cardenas, a Grove-area resident and mother of Emma, 9, Dylan, 6 and Max, 2, thinks that “it is really healthy to get outside because even when it’s just imaginary play, (the kids) are running, climbing and exploring. They aren’t sitting around. They can’t be bored outside.”
The obesity epidemic has put an even bigger spotlight on the importance of getting kids out the door, and the intensive media coverage is making an impact. “I have seen the growing stats so it’s definitely concerning,” says Heather. “It’s probably why I work really hard to make sure my kids get a balanced, organic meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’ve always got fresh organic fruit for snacks. I’m kind of a stickler about what they eat. My kids are still young enough where I can navigate what they’re consuming, so hopefully when they’re older they’ll have good nutritional eating habits.”
As the importance of healthy outdoor play grows, there’s one more area that receives an unintended benefit from this new focus. Greg Place of Parks and Recreation Magazine, who researched this subject, found that several authors in his study “have identified early-life outdoor experience—whether alone or with others—as the most important factor found in their research in developing environmental concern.” In other words, the more we get our kids outside, the more they’ll feel connected to the land and want to help preserve it.
Jennifer feels that “camping and hiking are important in making our kids environmentally aware. They love to camp and are very critical of people who litter and ‘ruin it for everybody else’.”
It just may be our last great hope in our quest to save our planet. Gone are the days of playing outside just for the sheer joy of playing outside. There are now solid reasons to get kids off the couch and into the tree. We all know what they are… including health, imagination, and environmental awareness.
But shhhhhhh… our kids don’t have to know that! |
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