What is the Worldwide Day of Play, you ask? It is the one day per year that everyone, everywhere, is encouraged to join together, shut off the television and get outside to play together as a family.
The Day of Play is a great opportunity to get your family going in the right direction toward being active and healthy. It's easy to get stuck in the routine of watching tv every day before and after homework and dinner, but, in my experience, once we get the kids outside and playing, they want to do it day after day. Playing comes naturally to kids and when parents join in, it is even better.
We try to get outside in the evenings whenever the weather is clear. We are lucky to live in something similar to a cul-de-sac so the kids can play without fear of traffic and they can play with the 10 other cul-de-sac kids.
We get games of four square going that last for two hours or more. I just love watching the kids play games I enjoyed when I was a child. We keep endless supplies of sidewalk chalk on hand so the kids can draw hopscotch paths and other artwork. They once did a hopscotch path with 100 squares! They had fun AND taught the preschool aged siblings more numbers.
When the sun goes down, the flashlights come out for rounds of flashlight tag. With sunset times getting earlier and earlier these days, the flashlight games can begin sooner and the kids run themselves ragged before having to go inside and shower or bathe before getting straight to bed. By getting active, they burn their pent up energy from long days of school and homework and are able to get to sleep more easily. It's win-win!
When I was a newer parent, I did not want my kids to get dirty when they played. Getting dirty meant more laundry and more time spent in the bath. I then realized that the dirtier they were, the more fun they'd had, and laundry is going to pile up no matter what. It's nothing a bar of soap and some Clorox bleach can't easily fix.
With four boys, I was destined to have a constant stream of kids in and out the front door. Getting outside to play is the best thing we can do to keep our kids healthy and active and ready to learn at school the next day.
I signed the Pledge to Play Outside at http://clorox2play2day.com and I encourage you to do the same.
Let's Play!
I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Clorox2® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.
Plus letting kids play and get dirty exposes them to germs etc that make them tougher and less resistent to the germs as they grow up. Hence more healthy and less prone to being sick.
ReplyDeleteGood point, Vicki.
ReplyDelete