Not enough children playing outdoors
Add Comment By Amrita Sheokand | November 13, 2009
I started making daily visits to my neighborhood parks only since I had my own child, but I have noticed that attendance dwindles at these play areas. There are days when we’re the only ones there. The evenings when we do have company, it’s usually toddlers with their moms or dads. I rarely see older kids outdoors.
The lede of a story on CNN.com yesterday made me realize it might be somewhat a worrying trend.
“Russell Pate was driving through a neighborhood one late afternoon when he noticed something odd.
He couldn't hear the sounds of children playing. No jump rope patter. No squeals of a bike's brake. No crack of a bat -- just silence.
The streets were deserted because the neighborhood kids were cocooned in their homes, Pate says. It was a scene he's seen over and over again.
"Now you can drive through entire neighborhoods where you know there are a lot of young kids there and hardly see any of them out," says Pate, an American Heart Association spokesman.”
There have been numerous studies insisting that young Americans are getting less active and fatter, continues the article. Medical experts are calling children “coronary time bombs,” likely to develop heart disease as adults.
I just don’t get it. Why is it so difficult for parents to take children out to the park everyday? I have brought this topic up with other parents several times but there’s always a reason— our children get so tired at school, by evening they are completely spent. Or that our children get enough physical exercise at school so they should relax at home in the evenings. Then of course, with both parents working, there are the logistics of visiting the park during weekdays.
I don’t have an answer for any of the above because I’m a stay-at-home mom of a child who does not go to school yet. Maybe I’ll have to bite my tongue and retire my children in front of the television or force them to stay indoors more once things change school and work wise.
Although I do remember from my own childhood that I was never too tired to play. Even after a full day at school that included physical education classes.
Meanwhile, I would love to hear from parents who are able to make the time to take their kids out to play.
Hopefuly it'll get other parents to rethink their excuses.