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Thanks for all the ideas. As Mattie said, it's heading into winter here for a garden might not work. We actually have veggie beds maybe we will try out next year. I have not a clue how to garden.
Bike riding...not my thing. One the kids are still on training wheels so they are slow. Second...I am semi terrified of bike riding.
I might visit a sporting goods store and see what they have we can play together.
What happened to playing with dirt, rocks and sticks? Getting-in-the-dirt imaginative play or even inside imaginative play (without all the crazy numbers of toys) is the best. I think it is important to encourage this type of play while they are young, so they aren't the kids that don't know how to entertain themselves without being surrounded by "stuff" and "gadgets". Please don't assume you have the buy lots for your kids to be occupied outside. If you need ideas, Google fun backyard or nature activities for kids. And I do force my kids to go outside at times, if it's the front yard I go out with them and do yard work or a project of my own. Once they are outside, it's usually hard to pull them away from whatever they're doing. It often involves building something with wood scraps or pvc pipes, looking for pill bugs, building forts out of sticks, etc. (they are 4 and 5 year old boys).
How about a tree house-- or a tire swing-- or even a hammock (if you have a kiddo that would rather read than play)? Figure out what motivates them: playing catch, hopscotch, drawing with chalk, building a snowfort-- whatever. Get them excited and, as others have said, join in at first, until they take initiative on their own. And, perhaps invite the neighborhood kids over-- it's a great way for the kids to make friends and for you to meet some of your neighbors, to.
Another option is to get a dog-- my kids spend hours outside playing with our dogs (playing fetch, running around) and we take the dogs on long walks, too.
But again ... stepping back a moment ... WHY the desperate need for kids to "play outside"? I'm not being ornery (really!), I am genuinely curious. If the kids are doing something interesting/productive/worthwhile INSIDE (i.e., not just sitting around watching TV or playing video games), then why the push to make them go OUTSIDE? Why is their playing "outside" inherently "better"? (I re-read the OP and couldn't see any reason other than the parents think the kids should want to be outside.)
As I posted earlier, as a kid I would have HATED being forced to go outside. I would much rather read.
My kids grew up in the city where they couldn't play outside alone until very recently (they are 9&10). .
Quote:
Originally Posted by HighFlyingBird
Bike riding...not my thing. One the kids are still on training wheels so they are slow. Second...I am semi terrified of bike riding.
I might visit a sporting goods store and see what they have we can play together.
At ages 9 and 10, they should be able to learn to ride w/o training wheels in about 10 minutes. Work on that first. Seriously, should not take them long at all. If you can't teach them, enlist the help of a neighbor, relative, friend, etc.
Why are you terrified of bike riding? It's fun!! It's like flying down the road! Wear helmets.
Get a football, a kick ball, a set of gloves and a baseball, a badminton set, a couple of scooters....kids should be active. Parents should be active with them.
Sorry, I know THAT sounded ornery, but the first paragraph of your link talks about problems such as obesity, attention deficit disorder, and depression. If a kid doesn't HAVE any of those, then there is nothing "magical" about the kid playing outside rather than doing something non-couch-potato-related INSIDE.
I know many people who absolutely love the outdoors. That's great, good for them. What I am still trying to understand is why the OP just assumed that her kids playing outside was better than her kids doing something inside (besides being couch potatoes).
I absolutely agree that kids sitting around watching TV, playing on their phones, playing video games, etc. isn't healthy. But those aren't the only things that can be done inside.
Sorry, I know THAT sounded ornery, but the first paragraph of your link talks about problems such as obesity, attention deficit disorder, and depression. If a kid doesn't HAVE any of those, then there is nothing "magical" about the kid playing outside rather than doing something non-couch-potato-related INSIDE.
I know many people who absolutely love the outdoors. That's great, good for them. What I am still trying to understand is why the OP just assumed that her kids playing outside was better than her kids doing something inside (besides being couch potatoes).
I absolutely agree that kids sitting around watching TV, playing on their phones, playing video games, etc. isn't healthy. But those aren't the only things that can be done inside.
Playing outside is exercise. Exercise is good. Sitting at a table all day or on a couch all day or on the floor all day is not as good. Of course there is value in quiet indoor activities - no one has said there is not! But there is also value in active outdoor activities (outdoor, because most parents frown on bike riding, playing football, etc. indoors). Run around, stretch those muscles. DO!
It is much more difficult to be really active inside the house as opposed to outside, as in get your heart rate up active. Kids need to run and jump and work on things like balance and coordination too.
A little whooping and hollering and just generally letting off steam and being boisterous is another thing that's easier to do outside too. I don't know of many parents who would be very happy to have those kinds of things going on in the house too often.
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