Saturday, June 5, 2010

Virtual games vs real games

Summer vacation from school is here for many. What are your plans?

Children need free time to physically move their bodies and just play. Many kids today are pretty tightly scheduled. And too many children aren't being encouraged to play actively, getting outside - climbing, running, jumping, gardening, and soaking up the sun. Way too many children today are sitting in front of televisions and computer screens. There can be value in TV programming and educational computer games. But sadly most children are not engaging in these learning media activities. And too many American children are newly joining the rolls of the obese, with all of the health problems associated with this disorder.

This summer, let's make greater efforts to give children healthy choices in their activities. We also need to be good role models. We need to get out and walk. We too need to practice pushing away from our computers (funny to write this as I sit at mine!)and use physically activity to deal with the illnesses and stresses that we are experiencing in growing numbers. Our bodies were meant to move. Shall we?

1 comment:

Janie said...

Thank you for posting this on your blog. I love seeing children outside playing. Maybe because that is what I did as a child. We made our games and acted out our favorite actors and actress's. My bicycle was my horse for a long time.
I think there can be a good balance between inside activities such as computers and outside things that kids do to have fun. The difficult part is the parents. I feel for them because it is a new age. There are many challenges for parents now. Another thing that comes to mind is, when children see their parents being active I feel the kids will follow suit. They tend to grow up with this, and stay active in their adult life. We can't blame our parents, but it is a role model that I think is important.