(shameless plug for him!)
Our kids all played outdoors, and played with the neighboring kids, and so do our grandchildren now. But we have been fortunate in where we live—or rather, we have avoided like the plague living in cities, even though I spent most of my life working in NYC.
We just moved farther and farther into the country, and I commuted farther and farther to work. But also, you have to take your kids for walks and encourage them to go out, until they do it on their own.
(shameless plug for him!)
Still wish I could go for the walks in the woods I used to. Nothing to me is as beautiful as a woods.
My sister and I would wander far through the woods, learning the names of the plants and birds. Trying to catch the turtles and frogs on the way.
Avoiding the boys because the always chased you. I remember once finding a suspicious square of brown leaves and branches on the ground, and a peep hole on the side. It was their underground fort, but the boys were not in it. We climbed down their makeshift ladder into the fort and a little rain tapped on the roof of it. The smell of the woods thrilled me.
There still is nothing to compare to the fun and mysteries I had when playing outside.
The area where I grew up is now infested with deer ticks carrying Lyme Disease.
My relatives who still live there try to keep the kids out of the fields, woods and forest to protect them from the disease but many have already contracted it.
We once played all over those woods, sleeping out overnight in the summer in tents made of blankets, building tree forts, wresting and playing games in the fields, camping in the woods.
ping
We have several neighbors with children that are from Kindergarten - middle school. It is not unusual to see three or four playing on the golf course behind the tee box. Believe me, they all have a low BMI, and love to play together. Most ride scooters, skate boards or bikes.
“spent most of our playing time outdoors, building forts in the woods, exploring every nook and cranny of our yards..”
This child activity created the 1st Marine Division fighters who took Mt Suribachi on Iwo Jima, the 101st Airborne soldiers who fought the Nazis on Normandy, the Special Forces who kicked ass in Nam, and the Navy Seals who took down Osama.
Hooray for forts built of old boards, string and childhood memories.
I notice in our trailer park that kids still play out of doors a lot. There is a playground but they find places to play everywhere. It is possible that some more affluent kids may have a disadvantage here: too many indoor and electronic pastimes.