Should we let our kids play outside? (Should we let our kids play outside?)

Name: GEABJOE

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Product:	Should we let our kids play outside?
Date:	04.03.08 (57 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Develop better motor skills, see reality, love nature

Disadvantages: No Gardens - Potential Allergies

Weather permitting children should grow up outside - of course logistics need to be considered anywhere in the world, young or old the more vitamin D they can get the better. I am a mother of three and yes I live in sunny South Africa where the sun never sets in summer which is a bonus and we do have a lot of wide open spaces yet I have family and friends who live in smaller confines with small gardens but compensate by taking kids to the beach and parks etc..
I find that children have a better perception of the world the more they spend time outdoors, climbing trees smelling the bark, leaves and grass, seeing ants carrying food for the winter on their little backs beckons questions that only mommy and daddy can answer hence bonding your child to you as a source of wisdom.
Time you say "who has time" - we all do we just need to manage it better, I am a fulltime working mom who spends 1 hour in the afternoon playing outside with all three kids that differ in age with wild abandon for my own age, we jump on the trampoline play a little swing ball, collect leaves and stones and flowers after bath make a collage with what we found and voila happy mom - happy kids great imagination and wow all without the aid of the television or computer.
In my house we have two rules NO T.V in the week NO COMPUTER in the week, we play, make food together get the bath thing done, read stories and off to bed without a hitch or moan, routine-routine-routine and we are all so tired we sleep like bears.

After reading my fav. reviewer Wendybull, there is a major problem in England and well a lot of European countries and well the best thing there would be if someone in the neighbourhood had a garden and would not object to the children playing in it, provided there was supervision, however my own mother grew up playing cricket in the streets and had a glorious time doing so and therefore Wendybull's age appropriate would apply. However, even if you have the smallest piece of garden in the world you could turn it into a wonderful fairy garden full of miniture toys and flowers to create a "secret garden" if you will anything you could do to allow the child to develop their imagination is of benefit not only to them but to you as well. You may say that is fine for the younger kids but what about the teenagers, well to me that is simple you can negotiate better with an older child hence instruction is also better understood, my oldest has simple chores that need to be completed in particular order on a daily basis (this will ensure responsibility being taught). Too often parents let their children do nothing because they are so precious and they are children and it is our responsibility to tend to their every need - well I think that is utter nonsense, children today are so much more advanced than what we were as children and their stimuli is received via technology and not through the human element anymore, so sad yet the great outdoors which is ever changing and yet ever constant can teach them things that technology can't - touch, smell, vastness, confinement and so the list goes on, Cops and Robbers will forever be a part of our lives and for generations to come the only difference potentially is where it is played on the lawn out back and on the street below with all the kids next door or will it be in front of the plasma via wireless remote whilst ordering their supper to be served to them on the floor.

Keep your kids near the nest, letting them loose in the big wide worlds open gates can be overstimulating for them, they will always be wanting more, whick will inevitably cost you more, keep it simple give them responsibility they will respect you more in the long run - feed their minds not their worldly appetites. Give them rope when they have earned it and you will see a mutual respect develop between you and your kids that will carry you for the rest of your lives, keep in touch with mobile or pager technology if they are out without you or someone you know, teach them clear reaction actions to situations and make a games night of it. i.e teaching your kids how to react if something were to happen on the playground or even at school - for example cellphones are a no-no in our school and my daughter has to take it with her to school as we make contact at the same time everyday after school and then again when sport practice is over and yet again when I leave the office to fetch her from aftercare, she knows to avoid having her phone taken from her she keeps it off and on her person concealed as I have taught her should any situation arise at a school or on the field etc that she could access her phone without having to create a scene all kids can text today faster than I can copy type anything (tested by myself and my daughter) she is way faster.
The best reward that I have received from raising my kids with the outdoor mentality is that they have great imaginations, I get asked inteligent questions that I can answer about the world around us and not what I term jargon from PSP, XBox etc which is a language most mothers in our generation don't understand anyway, my kids make tents and climb trees, they make decisions for themselves, love going for picnic's, taking long walks, riding bikes all the things that I did, my parents, grandparents and great grandparents did before me.

Children today seem to be way to technologically developed and less socially developed which is very sad I see this a lot with some of the kids in our community, they have all the modcons that the world has to offer and they are all experts at it, my little brother included and yet engage then in social banter, they are not only useless at it they clamp up and shrug their shoulders avoiding the whole situation altogether. I don't mean that we are doomed and that this will only be solved by outdoor play but I do believe a healthy balance is all you need make indoors due to the fact that it is shared living space a place where pride is taken by all to keep it clean and tidy and homely and the outdoors a place of exploration and experiment they may even develop green fingers and landscape your garden for you.

Summary: Mine don't come in till the sun goes down.