It’s April, and a warm spring day. I am sitting on my back deck enjoying the sunshine while getting some work done. And as I sit here, I am very noticeably missing something. A sound.
I hear birds and the occasional dog barking. I hear cars going by and leaf blowers presumably run by landscapers doing spring clean-up in our neighborhood. But what is a sound I DON’T hear?
Kids.
It is school vacation week and I don’t hear kids playing or laughing or riding their bikes down the street.
I don’t hear kids calling out to their parents or friends, asking to come out to play or for a snack.
Kids are home from school for the week, I live in a family-rich neighborhood and yet I don’t see or hear any signs of kids being outside on this gorgeous spring day.
It’s the lost art of playing outside.
It happened gradually I guess- this lost art. And me talking about it probably makes me seem old- like when my grandparents used to joke about “walking 5 miles to school in bare feet”. However I am not THAT old, and when I was a kid, a day like today would have been a prized possession. Freedom from the cold and dark winters when we DIDN’T get to play outside as much.
And yet, here it is in 2024 and I don’t even hear a peep from kids in the neighborhood.
What ARE they doing?
I needn’t wonder. I’m pretty sure I already know.
Screens.
It’s screens. There, I said it.
I’m not going to even go into my love/hate relationship with technology. But for the purposes of this blog post, let’s just say that I feel like it’s one of the biggest factors contributing to “the lost art of playing outside”.
With all that I know now and have learned about the brain, child development and MOVEMENT, it’s really hard to sit back and watch what is going on in the world and how kids just aren’t MOVING they way they used to. Movement is CRUCIAL for the development of the body and brain and without plenty of it, we’re in a different place.
We just are- we’re in a different place.
This isn’t even mentioning that playing outside also exercises the imaginations of kiddos as well as enhances their social interactions- especially when playing with a group of other kids.
It really is a lost art- playing outside. And let me tell you- I’ve struggled with it in my own family over the years too. And now I have two (considered to be young adults) who still don’t like to spend much time outdoors. I did my best to get them outside as much as I could when they were younger. But, as time went on, I too felt like I may have lost the battle.
Please, just know that if you’re reading this and you have kids- especially young kids (or grandkids)- get them outside!
Get them outside as much as you can each day. Let them play and run and ride bikes and scooters. Let them hang upside down on swing sets and climb up the slide. Encourage them to invite neighborhood friends to come out to play too. If need be, help them to learn games that maybe you played as a kid- like elbow tag, and hide-and-seek, kick ball and building “forts” in the woods or fairy houses out of bark and moss. Give them old pots and pans and let them make “mud kitchens”. It’s only dirt- trust me, it’ll wash out!!
I can honestly say (with conviction) that all of that outside time will have a beneficial effect on your children.
What if they were happier and stronger? What if they were more resilient and emotionally balanced? What if they “found” their creativity and imagination? And how about this- what if all that movement and outside time helped them be more ready to learn when they ARE in school???
Give it some thought, would you?
Playing outside doesn’t HAVE to be a lost art if we don’t let it be. Please spread the word and help today’s kiddos become the best versions of themselves that they can be.
I can’t do it alone, but TOGETHER we CAN make a difference.