go outside and play
From: Mother Earth News http://www.motherearthnews.com/Happy-Homesteader/Go-Outside.aspx
THE HAPPY HOMESTEADER
Self-reliance and sustainability in the 21st century.
Go Outside and Play!
8/6/2008 1:51:00 PM
By Heidi Hunt
Do you stand in the backyard or on the front porch and yell, “Heidi, time to come home!” when your kids are outside playing unsupervised in the neighbor’s yard? No? Then perhaps you are among the generation of parents reported on in todays Tree Hugger e-newsletter, “New Study: Kids Need the Adventure of ‘Risky’ Play.”
The group Play England, who conducted the study, suggested that risky play behavior, such as climbing trees, playing tag and splashing through creeks helps children learn to make judgements and know their own limits. They also suggested that today’s parents are keeping their kids too safe.
The original article, posted in The Observer, notes that more children are admitted to the hospital with injuries from falling out of bed than out of trees.
They went on to say, “The tendency to wrap children in cotton wool has transformed how they experience childhood. According to the research, 70 per cent of adults had their biggest childhood adventures in outdoor spaces among trees, rivers and woods, compared with only 29 per cent of children today. The majority of young people questioned said that their biggest adventures took place in playgrounds.”
