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Get Outside!
Summer fun for the whole family.
B
ack when my children were
babies, I'd drum up glorious
images of summers to come.
My kids would skip home from school
once that final bell rang, ready for
three months of fun in the sun.
I never considered that my vaca-
tioning charges might reach for
video-game joysticks over
badminton racquets. Or that
they'd want to spend their
lazy, hazy days surfing the
Net not the waves.
I understand that I'm
not alone in my plight. The
summertime couch potato
syndrome is all over the
modern child population
like guilt on Jewish moth-
ers. In fact, the Institute
for Social Research at the University
of Michigan reports that kids today
spend half the time playing outdoors
than kids did two decades ago.
Unfortunately, there is mounting
concern over this generational shift
from the back yard to the couch. A
recent broad-scale study featured in
the April 2007 issue of the American
Journal of Public Health reports that
summertime sedentariness among
children has them packing on the
pounds at twice the rate over the sum-
mer than during the school-year.
And a plethora of other research
links inactivity among modern kids
with increased incidence of childhood
depression and anxiety and tradition-
ally adult health problems like cardio-
vascular disease and high cholesterol.
Experts also warn that the demise
of traditional outdoor play could hin-
der children's development.
So how can we ensure our kids
remain happy, healthy and active dur-
ing their lengthy school siesta? We
begin with strict rules and limitations
regarding screen time: The American
Academy of Pediatrics recommends
no more than two hours daily of televi-
sion, video games and computers com-
bined. Then we follow up with plenty
of opportunity for child-oriented fun
in the sun.
The following list of high-interest,
low-maintenance, outdoor activities
promise to help keep your crew off
the couch — and out the door — all
summer long.
Try these options:
Sporty Kids
Volleyball: Use a clothesline as a net
and a lightweight beach ball or bal-
loon as a volleyball.
Baseball Splash: Fill a bucket with
water balloons. Have kids take turns
pitching and batting ... and getting
drenched.
Hula Hop: Spread hula
hoops around the back
yard, varying the distance
between them; challenge
children to jump from one
to the next.
Ages 6 Weeks-13 Years Old
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Mentshlich Kids
Car Wash: Kids will love getting wet
and sudsy. Donate profits to tzedakah.
Dog Walk: Have children help an
elderly neighbor or frazzled new mom.
Refreshment Stand: Help kids set up
shop with lemonade and cookies. I
Sharon Duke Estroff is an internationally
syndicated parenting columnist, award-
winning Jewish educator and the mother
of four children.
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Artsy Kids
Backyard Mural: Soak an old sheet
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Put out various tempera paints and
applicators and let kids go at it.
Tik (Tikkun Olam) Kids
Butterfly Garden: See how to design
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Bird Feeders: Plaster pine cones with
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Sweaty Kids
Water Limbo: Use water
from a garden hose instead
of a stick. Driest kid wins.
Water Slide: Secure plastic
sheeting (available at hardware stores)
with garden stakes in a grassy inclined
area; turn on the sprinkler and let kids
slide away feet-first.
Exploratory Kids
Go Geo-Caching: This amazingly
cool family activity is an outdoor trea-
sure hunt in which the participants
use a GPS receiver (or GPS-activated
cell phone) to hide and seek contain-
ers hidden all over the world. Find
details at www.geocaching.com
Beat the heat!
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July 19 • 2007
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