Great Outdoors
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Keeping Families Fit – Get Families Outside
Many parents are watching their kids change from energy packed toddlers to plump overweight couch potatoes at age 8. Why do so many children simply hop off the school bus, walk inside to watch TV or play video games? When did they lose that childhood energy? Why don’t they play outside like we remember we used too? And then why do so many parents watch from the kitchen barstool feeling helpless?
These are some good questions. I’m not going to condemn parents here so keep reading. My goal is to educate parents on some options and benefits to returning our kids to the great outdoors.
First off our family has a TV and my older boys enjoyed video games. I don’t see the evil in a little downtime in front of the TV or some mindless games. Little is the key word. I’m not going to attack the problem from this angle. Lets look at the benefits from getting outside each and every day for more time than it takes to walk to the car and back.
I live in the North East part of the United States. This year our winter seemed to drag on and on. The first day of moderate warmth and sunshine was like a vacation to Disney. It just felt good to get outside early that morning and stand facing the sun. It was like sunbathing in my long pants, long sleeve coat, and gloves but I loved it. Why? Sunlight does several things for your body. Sunshine triggers an increase in the feel-good brain chemical serotonin. Serotonin controls sleep patterns, body temperature, and also lifts your mood and wards off depression. Even better than that sunlight triggers the body to make its own vitamin D, which is crucial to health. Vitamin D not only makes strong bones and healthy teeth, but it keeps the immune system working. Studies have shown that exposing the body to sunlight increases the number of white cells in the blood. These cells are our body’s defense against infections. Vitamin D also increases the amount of oxygen our blood transports. Think how this will affect our energy levels, improve our workouts, and sharpen our minds. No wonder we feel better after having been out in the sun. Now please don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to worship the sun so much that you are harming your skin. Sun therapy works on health when you go about it in a safe and controlled way. This means building up exposure slowly and gradually. It does not mean throwing caution to the wind and allowing your poor body to sizzle! I suggest using a good sunscreen and a lot of common sense.
Just from the benefits of sunshine on our health we need to get our kids outside but how?
Remember the mom sitting on the bar stool watching helplessly as her kids soak in the TV? Lets go out with our kids. Yes there is always housework to do, and yes, the work will not do itself. Here is where knowing the importance of getting outside changes our priorities. We need to push our kids out the door as we lead the way. Play soccer with your kids, take them to a park each day, ride bikes, draw with chalk on the driveway, enroll them in a sport you like to watch just get them pointed in the right direction. Soon you will find them begging you to go out more, as friends come over they will be dragging them outside to play. As parents you will run into another problem of “How do I get my kids inside to eat dinner?” (this is a good problem when you look at the alternative)
It all starts with us as parents. What do we model? What do we put as a priority in our personal lives that overflow into our families? We might have to battle our kids at first to change their pattern of switching from TV and videos games to the great outdoors but I assure you the battle is worth the fight. Our kids will be healthier, happier, and physically fit.
