In the Woods

I watched a commercial the other day that had me all weepy. It turned out to be a Nature Valley granola bar promo and then I felt so cheesy for being emotional over it, but honestly it was so good.

Three generations of families were asked a question: "What did you do for fun as a kid?" (To the kids being interviewed, "What do you do for fun?")

The grandparent generation answered with things like fishing, playing baseball with the neighborhood kids, building forts in the woods and staying out all day long, growing things in the garden, riding bikes from sun up to sun down. The parent generation answered basically the same. But then...then it was the kids turn to answer, and every single one of them answered with one of these:

Video games.

Texting.

Playing on my ipad.

Watching videos.

 

The commercial goes on with music to draw you in emotionally as it shows a child frolicking in the woods, and the narrator says something about how this is what we were made for. How kids need to explore and run around and be part of the great outdoors...not sitting around playing on screens. (Really, it was a lovely commercial, Here is a link if you want to see it:))

Even though my kids don't get that much 'screen time', it re-motivated me to raise them the 'good old fashioned way'. Being outside, and not just when the weather suits their picky mom, but in rain or shine, warm or cold. Playing, using their imagination, and appreciating creation. It feels like we're swimming upstream sometimes, but we will fight the battle. Something is seriously wrong with overloading our little ones (or anyone for that matter) with so much technology. It's a scary thing when Brad tells me that his former elementary students stared at him blankly when he told them it was a free day in PE and to go play any game they wanted. They had no idea what to do, and many of them sat down in the grass and pulled out portable video games! Yikes!!! We've got to let kids to be kids! Technology can come later.

 

We were at my parent's house for the past couple of weeks and the girls did plenty of playing outside, but the last day we were there was extra special and fun. It was so smoky in the valley where my parents live, so we all decided to load the car and drive up in the mountains to get above the smoke for some fresh air. We had fun in a spot my dad's been going since he was a kid, and where he had taken me and my siblings most of our lives. It was so fun to take Brad and the girls up there, and Addison and Lily had a blast running around, taking walks and getting some one-on-one time with the grandparents. Enjoying the great outdoors, enjoying life.

 

 

 Now get outside and enjoy the end of summer! :)