What in the world is going on?

When I was growing up in the 40s and 50s in Sioux City Iowa I played outside whenever I was not in school. On beautiful summer days and during raging blizzards in the winter time – every day was an adventure as I explored new places. I wandered far and wide in my Northside neighborhood. Sometimes I was by myself and other times with neighbor kids playing games and riding our bicycles. We roller skated in the summer (we had skates that would fasten to the bottom of our shoes) and ice skated and went sledding on our Flexible Flyers when there was adequate snow in the winter. With March came the beginning of spring and constant winds to fly my kites. The winds blew with such regularity and force I was able to stake my kite string to the ground letting the kite fly while I went home to lunch.

As a child I was constantly on the move – out side.

It seems to me that children today are missing out. They are living lives that lack adventure and lack enough physical movement and activity. This does not seem like a good thing to me. Why are mothers across our country not saying to their children: “go outside and play!”. What will come of our nation with millions of children no longer playing outside, roaming the neighborhoods and countryside? This is not a matter of little importance; children playing outside is extremely important.