Modern children miss out on greatest childhood joys: playing outdoors
Forget computer games, television shows and DVDs, children derive the most fun from playing outdoors, research shows.
Scientists have revealed that while staring at a screen may seem tempting, our happiest childhood memories revolve around more simple pleasures, such as building sandcastles and making daisy chains.
Kite flying, rock-pooling and other low-tech outdoor activities are also vividly recalled.
By contrast, TVs, computers and other electronic gadgets barely feature in our treasure trove of childhood memories.
Researcher Dr David Lewis said that the findings suggest that modern-day children are in danger of missing out on some of the finest life experiences.
This topic has been on my mind lately. Homeschoolers have a great advantage when it comes to spending time outdoors. However, we can also fall into the trap of spending too much time inside.
I would blog more, but I'm going to leave my computer behind and spend some time outside.
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Related Tags: playing outdoors, homeschool
3 comments:
I spent a lot of time indoors as a kid, mostly watching TV. I wish somebody had turned the TV off for me. Totally wasted time. I put those memories to good use by limiting the TV and computer time for my kids.
I spent a lot of time indoors once I reached about the age of 9 because we moved to a subdivision, my parents worked all day and until I was 12, there really wasn't anyone my age in the subdivision to play with. I don't watch near the television now that I did as a kid, neither do my children.
And the study is right, when I think back on my childhood, I remember the time I spent on the neighbor's farm, before we moved. I remember swinging, blowing bubbles, biking for hours in my subdivision once a friend moved in across the street.
I was lucky growing up to live in small town. We were almost always outside playing. I needed to be home when the street lights came on and for meals and that was it. We also only got 4 channels on the TV so there usually wasn't a lot to watch.
I wish my kids could have that kind of freedom. There is so much traffic through our neighborhood, I don't even let the kids play in the front yard unless I'm watching them.
I do let them go out in groups of 2 or 3 to walk the neighbor's dog, but that's about all the outside alone time they get.
It is such a contrast to their cousins who live in Virginia. They live in a small subdivision in a very nice area and the kids run around at will. I was surprised to see my 3 year old nephew playing by himself in his front yard. His older sisters run down the street by themselves to play with neighbors all the time.
Because there is only one street coming into the subdivision, any stranger would be noticed.
Where I live, I personally know only 3 or 4 people living on my block, let alone on my neighborhood. So many homes have both parents working that there is almost nobody home during the day.
I fantasize about moving to a small town.
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