Apropos for Outdoor Home Month is Tom Stienstra's recent article in SFGate, entitled "Parents need to let kids out from 'house arrest'". While this could have been a 'blame the parents' piece, Stienestra turns to Richard Louv, the author of Last Child in The Woods, who thoughtfully describes how a child's outdoor adventures shape development, benefitting their physical and emotional help, and helping them develop immersion attention.
Are kids really on house arrest?
According to this article, 90% of children in San Diego do not know how to swim, and 34% have never been to the ocean, while bicycle sales are down 31% in the last 5 years. We are raising a sedentary generation of children with very little unscheduled play time, and the problem inherent in that, according to Louv, is that without access to nature, and play outdoors, children are truly under house arrest.
Do your kids have much unscheduled outdoor play time? Is it more, or less, than you had as a child? And how important is this issue, anyway?
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My three year old has almost around-the-clock access to our downtown (southern u.s.) backyard. It is quite large for our area, fenced in, and very safe for him to come and go as he pleases. Many parents I know don't even allow their three year old alone unscheduled free-play outside. He loves it and I think it's good for him.
I don't think he's quite old enough to go roaming the streets alone, but I do hope that I can let go enough to allow him to do that when the time comes. I remember great adventures of my childhood were always on my bike exploring the neighborhood. I think too many parents fear for their child's safety to allow them to go out alone.
view Scout's profile
i grew up in a small rural town and was outside in the woods or on my bike almost daily, for hours at a time.
now i'm totally city-fied and have anxiety over insects and dirt, but i still sent my mom an email after reading this article to thank her for letting my sisters and i run around and play on our own rather than scheduling our lives around the clock.
view molly h's profile
Not just kids, but I think adults don't get enough outdoor playtime!
I can't wait 'til my kid is old enough to run around outside by herself! Until then I will continue giving her plenty of opportunities to explore, while keeping an eye on her. I love hiking, camping, kite flying, bike riding, and swimming at the beach. I take my kid with me to do all of those things, so she will hopefully learn a thing or 2 about nature, and I will feel more confident when the time comes to let her explore on her own.
view poopmama's profile