I happened to find myself part of a conversation where a parent was being criticized for not involving her daughter in more summer structured activities like dance classes, gymnastics and soccer. The little girl was five.
I thought back to my own childhood and what things I did when I was five and I can assure you my parents signed me up for nothing…except ‘go outside and play’. And that’s what I did. I played with the neighbor kids at hide and seek, kicking a ball, riding my little bike, catching ants, crawling in the dirt, and playing in our sand box. If my parents had grabbed me from any of these activities to go to a soccer match, wear a uniform, run in the hot sun until a coach told me to stop, I’d certainly have wished I could be back in my yard looking under rocks for salamanders.
Oh yeah…there was no ‘childhood obesity’ epidemic at the time, either. And yes…I was probably eating things that, by today’s standards, were absolutely unhealthy. And when I got a little older, I played baseball, football, kickball, crocket, pickle, badminton and about anything else you could imagine…with the kids in the neighborhood, no parents for an audience, no uniforms and lots of arguments and fights. I had fun, learned how to compromise, and was fit and healthy. Am I missing something?
Anyway, I couldn’t help but to chime in and suggest that all parties read ‘Last Child in the Woods’, Robert Louv’s wonderful book on nature deficit disorder and the need for everyone to get outside…in the woods, the creeks, under the rocks, and in the dirt. If we all did, we’d be in better shape, happier and more stress-free. And I really think if you ask the average five-year old if they’d like to go every day to a dance class or just hang out in the yard and play with their friends, they’d pick the latter. In the end, the kids may know better than us about what’s good for them.
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