Outside fun should be childsplay
THE sun was out this week and a neighbour’s child had found some chalk sticks.
Naturally the gaggle of kids on our little road got overly excited playing hopscotch and drawing all sorts of pictures on the tarmac.
But the glares from some folk walking by sent a clear message to parents.
‘Down with this sort of play’, was the vibe.
The chalk washes off with a bit of rain, so what harm?
Since Covid hit and working from home, grown-ups have come to almost expect silence in domestic settings.
But children are entitled to get out in the fresh air and play, it’s a rite of passage.
I could sense that my kids’ laughter and high pitched glee was a cause of consternation for many working remotely in our neighbourhood.
I imagined their giggles were interrupting the never-ending zoom meetings.
There’s a sense of us and them now – the remote workers versus the kids and mammies.
Gone are the days when youngsters playing happily on the road was like music to elder lemons’ ears.
Are we forgetting that we were once kids too?
My girls are always asking me what games I played in ‘the olden days’.
I tell them we hit the road with sheer abandon.
We created plays and made flying machines out of wood.
‘But how did they fly?’ my six-year-old asks.
‘They didn’t,’ I laugh, but it’s all in the making
I tell her. Ask a kid these days to skim a stone and they’ll look at you with 10 heads. Now that the weather is better, kids need to get out more.
Playing outdoors is crucial for a healthy childhood. Not only that, it’s a human right.
We have the least fit generation of children in history because they aren’t out doing what they should do, play. Kids who play outdoors are more likely to try new hobbies and fresh air fun is a major motivating factor for physical activity.
Exposure to natural light boosts mood, stimulating the body’s serotonin.
Not to mention Vitamin D, plus the best bit of all, it helps kids sleep better.
In an age where we’re desperately trying to reduce screen time, let’s spare a thought for the next generation and let them climb trees and play hopscotch unabated.
As for the remote workers who are happy to be at home and not in the office, my advice?
Buy noise cancelling headphones if you want to avoid a commute and work in your PJS.
As Albert Einstein said: “Play is the highest form of research.”