It wasn’t uncommon a few decades ago to see children playing in the street, or on sidewalks in their neighborhoods. As long as children were home before the street lights came on, parents were delighted, and sometimes insisted, that children go outside to play. You don’t see children playing outside much anymore. We are in different times now. These are times when youth violence, pedophilia, abductions, and people driving drunk are at an all time high. However, is that the reason we don’t send our children out to play? We also live in a technologically advanced age with video game consoles, high definition televisions, electronic toys, hand held devices, and mp3 players, which baffle even the most savvy adult brought up in this high-tech, fast-paced era. There is also an increase pressure on students today to perform better in school, and with either both parents working until 6pm or 7pm, or single parents being the only one available to assist with homework, and getting food on the table, there doesn’t seem to be much time for outside play. There is likely a combination of reasons why children aren’t outside playing in the sun, and breathing natural fresh air, but just because these reasons sound like good ones, doesn’t mean we throw our hands up and throw in the towel to trying to get our children to play without the use of added equipment.
Many adults of previous generations tout how they would play for hours outside either alone or with a friend from school, or in the neighborhood. There wasn’t a screen, a toy, a computer, headphones, joystick, or batteries to turn something on. Back then, some say, there was so much imagination, creativity, and sheer joy being free to run and play. At best, some say, they had a ball and a stick on hand, and the stick was typically found while playing. These minds, which grew up on a steady diet of sun, and fresh air to stimulate their minds, are some of the leading minds today in technology, healthcare, education, astronomy, physics, music (non-studio), and science. What will happen to our future generation of adults leading our country into the 22nd century if imagination and creativity get stifled?
A teacher in the Nashville, Tennessee public school system shared that she told some young children to go and play during a recent recess period, and after only a couple of minutes, the children came back and said they were bored and didn’t know what to play. There were jump ropes, balls and other outdoor equipment, yet the children needed direction and guidance on how to engage in play. This teacher suggested games such as tether ball, tag, hide-and-go-seek, just to name a few, but without the external stimulation of something tangible or visual, they weren’t sure what to do using their own bodies, and their own mind. Have children lost the art of play?
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