Build a healthy future for your child in the outdoors
Do you remember being told, Go outside and play when you were a kid? Did you ever wonder what to DO? Outside? Not me. Outside was home for me.
Big kids played with little kids. I climbed Eddie’s sycamore tree before I knew its name. We went bike riding and played catch with the dogs. We all played together, no matter what school we went to. The safety net was one single rule, we had to be able to hear our parents call us from one of the 5 yards.
The slate patio in my yard was better for jump rope than the grassy slope of Patty’s yard. Eddies driveway was slick black pavement so it was great for skating and handball. Sometimes we collected lightning bugs in jars from everyone’s yard and then took the glass jars into a big tent in our yard. We would go off on some wild imaginary adventure in the dark using our bug lights until someone was called home
Every summer our poor pets performed in our little circus acts. We pretended they were trained beasts. We had clowns and magicians and acrobats and even music. It was a lot of fun putting the whole thing together and then performing in front of our grandmothers who gathered on our patio for the hilarious event.
Somehow refreshments always appeared on the table for all to share. Lemonade or cookies. Our parents kept us home all through the summer and after school. We spent most of our time outdoors. Rarely did we even go inside another person’s house but we had a lifetime of fun in our yards.
We think we invented the adventure game called “Scout”. It was our specialty. We had to gather all sorts of outdoor gear like canteens, flashlights, sunglasses. Once I got in trouble for using my Dad’s Leupold binoculars in the game instead of Eddie’s plastic ones. Mom explained they were real binoculars and cost a lot so they were off limits. Today I use them for birdwatching and no little kids will play with mine!
What happened to fun in the backyard? We were not afraid to learn by falling or failing. We taught each other how to get along. Fights were not allowed. Today quarrels and fights are common in school. And neighborhood streets are empty while kids play alone indoors with video games and eat junk food and get fat.
We might all be healthier and have more wholesome neighborhoods if we spend more time outdoors. Instead, we protect our kids and keep everyone in safe and supervised group activities. So when we get together as families it is an awkward time and everyone retreats to their own space and does their own electronic thing. Lets create some healthy outdoor fun with our kids today.
Tags: a, b, binoculars, bird guides, E, exercise, f, family, h, health, healthy kids, healthy outdoor fun, home & family, i, k, kids, leupold binoculars, n, neighborhoods, o, outdoor, outdoor games, outdoors, r, Recreation Sports, s, Sports, summer fun, u