UNITED STATES—Kids these days, they just are so glued to a computer screen I cannot understand it for the life in me. When I was growing up, we couldn’t wait to get outside and play. As soon as that sun rose, if we could get outdoors we would be outdoors and we’d stay outside till it started to get dark and we just knew it was time to come inside, eat, bathe and do it all over again the next summer day.
Today, so many kids don’t even want to go outside and actually play. Why? They are glued to the computer screen. Rather it is a phone, a tablet or a computer screen, the level of activity with our kids has significantly dropped to a point that is not just scary, but so concerning. Look, even I will admit at times you can get caught up in social media for 20 to 30 minutes looking at content, but that is where I have to cut things off. I’m not trying to be glued to the screen for hours on end with no activity along the way.
That is just bad and it explains why we have so many health issues in this country for adults and kids alike. I’m someone who loves the outdoors. To smell the fresh air, to go on a walk, to meet and to chat with people, these are the things we need and should be doing on a consistent basis and getting our kids to get outdoors more. There is so much you can do outside with the kids. During the summer, when most kids are out of school, it’s a great time to start a garden, to do a slip n’ slide, to build a swing set, to play tag, rather its regular tag, frozen tag (like we played) or helper tag. That is just the begging.
We used to race, jump rope, we played Mr. Fox, red light green light, hide and seek and so much more. I haven’t even gotten into the fact that we used to play baseball in our open field ALL THE TIME for hours, in addition to basketball and football. For families lucky enough to have a pool, swimming is a great form of exercise, but be sure you have a designated life guard or parent on hand watching the kids when they swim and have a lock on that gate to ensure children cannot just wander out to the pool unattended. It only takes a matter of seconds to a few minutes for a child to drown unattended.
The key is to get the children outside to be active, take them to the zoo to walk around. Take them to the aquarium, take them to a place that allows their creative brain and juices to begin to explode. Make them do something besides sit around all day glued to a screen that is ultimately going to have an impact on their vision and brain in general. Even if the parents are not as fit as they would like to be, it is an opportunity to build memories with your kids and be active in the process.
You might think your kid not being active is not a big deal, but trust me it is. You don’t want a kid to just be sitting around all day with no desire to do anything. Those lazy kids soon become lazy adults. When your child says I’m bored, you know what your response should be, “Go outside a play.” That is what my parents echoed so often and it needs to be done today.
Written By Zoe Mitchell
