21Apr/110
Getting Your Kids To Play Outside
Chances are, you probably have fond memories from your childhood of playing outdoors for hours and hours, until your parents forced you to come inside. In the fall, you played outdoors in the leaves; in the winter, you enjoyed the snow; in the spring and summer, you enjoyed the long days that allowed you to play whatever your imagination came up with! These times spent outdoors may have been shared with your siblings, or perhaps you shared them with other kids who lived in your neighborhood. And with these other kids, you would play sports or would play make believe all the way until dark.
Nowadays, however, it seems like many kids never set foot outdoors except to wait for the school bus in the mornings. And as for the rest of their free time, they spend it plopped down on the couch watching television or playing video games, or they sit staring at a computer screen. Television, video games, and computers are fine, of course, but they should be used in moderation; after all, children who play outside are healthier, their minds are stronger, and they are less susceptible to childhood obesity. If your goal is to encourage your own children to begin to play outside, here are a few things you can try doing. If you "force" your children to play outside, they are less likely to enjoy it; recognize this, and recognize that many children will feel rebellious when they are told they "have to" do something. What you should do instead is create opportunities for your children to "discover" the joys of playing outdoors. You can take huge strides toward accomplishing this by doing these two things: 1) Limit the amount of "media time" your children can have each day, and 2) Take some time to play outside with them!