Newspaper Page Text
October 15, 2008
&Reporter
PAGE 5B
Healthy kids play outside
T hat’s a phrase I
heard a few
thousand times
growing up.
When I think
back to my childhood many
of my fondest memories
are of playing outside. It
helped that I had two
brothers and many more
kids close in age living
along my street. Riding
bikes, building forts,
exploring the creek, swim
ming and many other
things took up much of
those early years for me.
I’m in my early thirties
now, so technology was by
no means archaic during
my childhood. But even in
those days the only elec
tronic distractions in our
house were the television
(limited to a few channels),
VCR, radio and battery
operated games. Later on,
we had Atari and even
Nintendo, but they never
seemed to be a big part my
fun. They certainly are not
the source of any of my
meaningful memories.
Times have changed.
Today, kids
are lured by
television,
including
numerous
channels dedi
cated just for
them; there
are VCRs,
DVD and DVR
players. Then
of course there
are video game
players like
PlayStation,
Xbox, Wii,
PSP, Nintendo
DS, Game Boy,
not to mention
computer
games for the
PC. And there’s the
Internet, which hosts end
less videos and games and
the extremely popular
social networking sites like
MySpace and Facebook.
Add all of this together
and it’s not difficult to see
why kids are inside glued
to electronic devices. This
technology is fun, exciting,
requires little physical
effort, and in many cases,
little imagination. And it’s
often right there in their
bedroom. Two-thirds of all
8 to 18 year olds have a
television in their room
and almost half have a
video game player.
The Kaiser Family
Foundation found that chil
dren and teens are increas
ing the amount of time
they spend with electronic
media—approximately six-
and-a-half hours per day
on average. That was an
increase of an hour over
five years. By the time the
average child turns 18 he
will have watched some
where between 10,000 and
15,000 hours of television.
Not surprisingly, many
kids are spending less time
outside than before.
By Stephen
Daniels
Research done at the
University of Maryland
found that the proportion
of children between the
ages of nine and 12 who
spend time in outside
activities such as hiking,
fishing and walking
declined 50 percent
between 1997 and 2003.
Part of the decline was
linked to an increase in
computer use, television
and video games.
I don’t know about
you, but after months of
cold temperatures I’m
glad that springtime is
here. With three kids
under the age of six, my
wife and I are thrilled to
be able to say “go outside
and play.” With the change
in season this is a great
time to get the kids active
outside. And there are
many good reasons to do
so. Here are a few:
It’s healthy. What better
way to exercise the body
than to run around, play
ball or ride a bike. It’s no
mystery why childhood
obesity is on the rise. Kids
are spending an increasing
amount of
sedentary time
watching tele
vision or play
ing video
games, often
snacking while
they lounge.
It expands
the imagina
tion. Video
games and tele
vision leave lit
tle to the imag
ination; being
outside opens
up a world of
possibilities for
children. It was
certainly true
when I was young, and I
am amazed when I see my
own kids create their own
fun with what they find in
Outdoor activities, like youth football at the Monroe County
Recreation Department, offer tremendous health benefits to
kids. (Photo/Gina Herring)
the yard.
It’s cheap. Fun outdoors
doesn’t require spending a
lot of money—and it can’t
be as expensive as the elec
tronics they’re hopefully
leaving in the house. This
is especially true with little
ones. It’s amazing how
eager my children are to
join most any amusement I
recommend.
Perhaps most important
ly, playing outside offers
parents a great opportuni
ty to spend quality time
with their children. Of
course we can’t always
drop what we’re doing to
be out there with them.
But there are many times
when we can. Turning off
the television or setting
aside other distractions is
good advice for mom and
dad too, especially when
we have young ones whom
we can engage.
Our kids want and need
our attention. Being out
side with them can create
some meaningful memo
ries. Are we more likely to
talk with our child while
the television is on or
while we’re throwing the
ball in the front yard? Can
we expect to connect while
our child is racing a grand
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prix on the Xbox or while
we’re taking a walk in the
woods?
I’m not against the use
of electronic media. It has
its place in a home and can
certainly be a source of
education and fun for the
family. But it’s important
for us as parents to limit
our children’s use of tech
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acting with electronics can
steal away time better
spent elsewhere.
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