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What memories are sparked when you think of your childhood summer vacations? Do you reflect fondly on summers you spent surfing the internet, text messaging friends or laughing hysterically at YouTube clips? Did you make the most of hot summer days by virtual hiking and fishing on your Wii or Playstation? Do you remember how much you enjoyed frolicking online with your Sims family and your digital pet Webkinz? Heck, no…you knew how to go outside and P-L-A-Y.
If you were like me, the best summer vacations EVER required a swimsuit, some neighborhood buddies and a yard sprinkler.
We said “goodbye” to our mamas around 10:30am and “hello” right before the street lights came on.
We played tag, hide-and-seek, dodge ball, Mother-May-I and Red Rover and smelled like fresh puppies within the first hour of play.
Lunch was served by the mama whose house we found ourselves nearest around noon. We ate our smorgasbord of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, red kool-aid, popsicles and big fat pickles on the porch or the swing set without washing hands or using antibacterial gel.
No child’s allergies were a consideration. If Ray Ray developed a rash or “swoll up,” (yes, I know, bad grammar) we just made fun of his big head and walked him home. We waved to the ambulance as it drove by with Ray Ray and his mama and hoped he could come outside again tomorrow.
We knew better than to run in and out of any house asking for snacks, so we ate mulberries, pomegranates, loquats and figs from neighborhood trees (without washing them!), we sipped honeysuckle nectar and drank water from a hose. I don’t recall a single case of dysentery among us.
Girls dared to ask to come inside for one or two bathroom breaks during the day. Boys, well…you know how they took care of business.
We were allowed to carry change in our pockets and buy ice cream from a truck without fear of abduction.
Our mamas didn’t check a daily ozone report to decide if it was safe enough for us get some fresh air.
We sported halters, muscle shirts, cut-off jean shorts and Zips (or Keds).
We ran out of the house before anyone could remember to spray us with bug repellent. We ran through high grass and crouched in tall weeds and were covered in bites from mosquitoes and chiggers but none of us died of bird flu or malaria.
We wore no sunscreen, sunglasses or floppy hats and displayed our burnt-toast brown skin as badges of honor. You had a jacked-up summer if you didn’t return to school all “mocha-choca-latta-ya-ya” in the fall.
We had good ol’ fashioned, natural fun, all day long, all summer long.
My kids hear legendary stories from their father and me of the "San Antonio spear grass fight of the century,” the “Waco pogo stick incident of 1976” or the shared experience of “running from the big dog,” and are convinced that we had tortured childhoods. They look at the scar on their dad’s eyebrow from tackle football in the front yard and the speckled blemish on my forearm from falling off the handle bars of a friend’s bike (I think I still have gravel in that wound) and wonder how we are living to tell the tales.
Although my children are completely mortified by the dearth of electronic gaming devices in our home, I proudly boast to all who inquire that we have never owned a Playstation, GameCube or Wii. My husband feigns disappointment in our lack of digital entertainment, but gleefully pats his wallet and declares, “I’d buy you kids a Wii, but your mama won’t let me.”
I gladly take the heat. I am not swayed by their pouty lips, watering eyes or refrains of “that’s not fair!” When my children have friends visiting and the issue of buying video games comes up, I say, “Who needs Wii, when we have we? Now, go outside and play and get out of my face.”
Science is on my side of the argument. We all know the benefits of physical exercise, but the social, developmental and educational benefits of outside play also abound.
According to Rae Pica, author of A Running Start: How Play, Physical Activity, and Free Time Create a Successful Child, "Outside light triggers the synthesis of vitamin D and stimulates the pineal gland, the part of the brain that helps regulate the biological clock and is vital to the immune system." In addition, researchers of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that contact with nature improved attention spans and self-control in kids, including those diagnosed with ADHD.
Grimy, outdoors play also helps your children stay healthier in the long run. Dr. Mary Ruebush, an immunology specialist, and author of Why Dirt Is Good explains that human immune systems are like computers that need programming. Through the introduction of new microorganisms to the body, a child’s developing immune system teaches itself to adapt by manufacturing a memory so his body can respond appropriately to future intruders.
Beyond the technical reasons for outside play, why would anyone deny their children life’s simplest pleasures? Show them how to enjoy the best time they will ever have.
A simple walk around the block with your kids is a great opportunity to talk to them and find out what they’re thinking about these days. When my husband shoots baskets with our son, or I strike up a game of jacks in the driveway with my daughter, children from the neighborhood magically appear and join in the fun. One evening a couple of years ago, a game of Red Light/Green Light practically started a block party of children and adults in the street in front of our house.
One of the best times we’ve had at our home involved handily spanking my brother and his wife in a brutal game of badminton. It was awesome to crush them mercilessly in front of our children and theirs (I've obviously been a Jones too long). Of course, I keep a ready supply of ibuprofen, ice and alcoholic beverages for just such an occasion to soothe my husband’s back, my knees and my brother's ego.
No excuses allowed. Don’t just sit there and reminisce about those good old days. Create some good new days. Grab your kids, go outside and play!
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