How often do your kids go out and play?

[Camperroo]

So many of our kids are so computer advanced at young ages it's just unbelievable.  Do you limit their computer time.  I tell my kids everyday after school (as long as it's nice out) to get outside and play.  They cannot come home and play video games or watch tv as soon as they walk in the door.  Most of the parents in the neighborhood have all agreed to the same thing, because let's face it when we were kids we were out and about all the time without worrying about stranger danger!  Now our kids all meet in whoevers yard and shoot hoops or play whiffle ball, etc. and have a great time doing it.  Plus both mine are involved in team athletics, so at least they get that exercise too.  Our local middle school eliminated recess and only half a year of gym so these kids are not getting out and playing at all or getting exercise by running around goofing off with friends.  Moms are complaining their kids spending too much time indoors at school without a break to burn it off a bit.  I wonder what our children's attitudes towards play and exercise will be with their kids as they've lived in this generation of way too much sit down activities.

Thank goodness for camping, at least they get out walking and swimming most of the time!

[luvourjayco]

Our grade 5 class just ran a challenge and it was amazing the poor results.
Out of a class of 20 students and the teacher there was only 4 students that managed to go a week with no tv. The teacher was out on the 2nd day!!
No wonder kids are so unfit and over weight.
I tried to attach the article from the paper that I had scanned but can't figure it out. No biggie!

[kathybrj]

We personally don't own video games and we do live on an acre, surrounded by many more acres, so my kids are out all the time hiking, snow shoeing in winter, fishing, etc. They also ride their bikes to the park and practice their soccer with friends. We own one television, in the living room and it doesn't get used a lot during the week.

The computer gets used for school research and with mom or dad there with them. Otherwise, it's mom's!  

[tlhdoc]

We don't have any kids in our neighborhood .  I have to import kids for DS to play with, so he doesn't play outside as much as I would like him to.

[Michicampers]

We have a hard time getting our younger son to come in - he is happy to play outside quite a bit, especially when he has decided to do a "project" - build a ramp out of scrap lumber or take one of his bikes apart  :rolleyes: . Our older son is pretty busy with his activities, but he gets out there when he can on his skateboard or plays with his friends or brother. Both boys enjoy playing PS2 too, but usually only get to it on the weekends.

[Ab Diver]

Actually, our schools seem to be pushing P.E. right along with the higher standards for academic classes. But for our kids, the computer is a learning tool more than a toy. Even the games we buy encourage them to think: lots of stuff from The Learning Company, reading and math games, Zoo Tycoon and Rollercoaster Tycoon (imagination, logic and reasoning, planning for future actions). Both girls are involved with team sports as well as ballet/gymnastics classes. While they aren't climbing trees or the local mountains every chance they get like we did (boys will be boys), the hours spent reading for pleasure will only help to expand their vocabulary and ability to absorb information as they grow. Besides, DD#2 is already coming as close to a perpetual motion machine as is humanly possible anyway.

[birol]

DS goes to Air Cadets, 4 times a week, and there is a lot of physical activity involved. SUnday mornings he helps with papers as well, so he is not activity challenged. We limit his time in front of computer or Nintendo severely sometimes, if he gets more than 5 hours a week, he is lucky ...  He watches tv with us, when we are watching it, or studies .......

DD is another matter, no activities for her, when the weather is nice, she has to play outside, no tv or video games. In bad weather, with friends, she gets to play some video or computer games, but after couple of hours,w e tell them to start chatting and playing with other stuff.

Good thing they don't tell me  hwo I get to spend this much time in front of the computer, actually they do .... and I explain why  

[B-flat]

Ha! Birol, you will have them complaining about your computer time from here on out.  They will have you as the star in "Adults Behaving Badly at their Computers!":D

[DiW]

My younger two have always been outside on a daily basis. They play in the back yard, shoot hoops, practice soccer. My younger one is still big on creative mud projects   . They often ride their bikes to the park or friend's houses. My youngest plays on travel bball and travel soccer teams and well as doing competitive dance. So everyday she has a strenuous practice. This is not my choice. I'd rather see her go shoot hoops in the backyard but all 3 kids prefer being involved with kids that enjoy playing as hard as they do. My DH was a competitive skier and raced cars and he doesn't understand my aversion to the cometition. Guess it's a personality thing. I just repeatedly give them the option of quitting when the season ends. My older one has never been into the outside playing but would go along if we asked her. She did gymnastics for a couple years and dance for 8 years. She does play on bball teams and now swim team. Our school pushes gym and my girls have always gotten the national or (sometimes) Presidential fitness awards. My son is physically unable to participate in most sports but finds a way to stay active (tennis, bowling, bike riding). Our HS gym class is intense. 1 1/2 hrs every other day. My DD lost 8 lbs freshman year and 2 clothes sizes. I actually was concerned she was anorexic but she eats regularly. Kids that don't give their all get a bad grade.

Camperoo,
I think you should consider yourself lucky to live in such a great neighborhood where kids can be kids and all the parents are in it together. Bet they share supervision, too. Funny, but in my neighborhood, there are 2 families whose kids are required to be outside. They simply hang out at neighbors houses everyday, which annoys the neighbors but the kids have no choice. They are locked out. One neighbor walked one family (a set of 6yo twins) home once and the mother finally answered the door, and said the kids weren't allowed home before 5:30. This was her time to rest... I think the world has gone mad. When my DD babysits one of the neighborhood families, she often has 12 kids to deal with because all the neighborhood kids congregate at that house. It's one of the few houses where the kids are allowed to play together. None of the other parents will let the kids play at their homes. Seems they don't want to have to watch them... Makes me wonder when adults became so selfish.
Diane

[Camperroo]

yes, we are lucky to have such a great neighborhood.  You either find the kids all at one friend's house playing outside in the yard or you find the parents and the kids all out on the street (we don't live on a car busy street) playing a football or whiffle ball game together or the kids hang out and play while the grownups hang around with the little ones in tow all talking together..most often after work or on the weekends.  We've made it a very old fashioned environment in that way with all the families on the street and it makes it very nice.  It's the kind of neighborhood where we do weekend barbeques or for things like Halloween after the kids trick or treated, one of the neighbors rented one of those blow up things the kids can all jump around in, and then made their garage a "haunted house"  It's nice when your neighborhood can be a little community!!

[birol]

They simply hang out at neighbors houses everyday, which annoys the neighbors but the kids have no choice. They are locked out. One neighbor walked one family (a set of 6yo twins) home once and the mother finally answered the door, and said the kids weren't allowed home before 5:30. This was her time to rest... I think the world has gone mad.

We had a second daughter like that (That is what we called her). She lived in our house for more than two years, only went home, reluctantly, when it was time to sleep. Alomst every day after school, saturday and Sundays at 8 am .... she would pick up her toys and pop over .... DD and her got a long great, so we didn't mind it too much. BUT, I would never send my children to someone elses house to stay out of the house. People are too self centered. They don't even care about their own flash and blood.

[Miss-Teri]

As long as the weather is nice, we usually push our kids out the door to get some exercise and use some imagination that they wouldn't be using watching TV or playing video games.  

As you said, thank goodness for camping!  Our last trip to the lake the kids spent all day every day we were there on a rocky ledge overlooking the lake.  They tried to catch fish by hand, looked for frogs, and skipped rocks along the surface of the water.  We kept having to go to them to spend some family time, lol, because they were having such a wonderful time!

Camping should be a part of everyone's childhood!

-Teri