No Child Left Inside

This is a follow up to the discussion that I had with Dora and Eric a few weeks back about when and where kids are allowed to play. I saw this editorial today in the Stamford Advocate, written by Gina McCarthy, the commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Environmental Protection. In researching this afterwards, I found that the state of Connecticut actually has an entire state program dedicated to just this topic, No Child Left Inside, who knew? It is a very interesting article. If I could find it on the web, I would just link it, but it is worth a read if you have kids.

When I was youngster, my friends and I lived to be outdoors. Staying inside was punishment that felt like torture.

Our most enjoyable after-school, weekend or summer-time hours were those spent in what we now call unstructured play. No matter what the weather, we stayed out til the streetlights came on or someone’s mom called them home.

I know the world has changed a great deal since I was a child, and these changes have taken a heavy toll on our children and their ability and willingness simply to go out and play.

Today, youngsters are not itching to go outside. They are stuck indoors, plugged in to cable TV, DVD’s, high speed internet access, and electronic games. Even if a child wants to go out, the cars drive too fast, and no one wants to let their kids out of their sight for safety’s sake. In many ways, our sense of community is confined to our homes, schools and places of worship.

Whatever the reason our kids stay indoors, the results are alarming.

Since the 1970’s, the rate of obesity among children in the United States has doubled and even tripled for some age groups. More children are getting an unfortunate head start on health problems such as diabetes and heart disease that will carry into adulthood.

Experts also tell us that spending time outdoors is not only important for physical health, it is critical to the development of cognitive and social skills. Is it any wonder that more and more of our homebound youngsters are taking medications for depression and other behavioral problems?

Finally, in time, society, as well as our children will suffer if we don’t them out to play. Show me a generation of adults who did not experience the wonders of nature firsthand when they were young, and I will show you taxpayers and voters who will not care about preserving open spaces, maintaining biodiversity, keeping the air and water clean, maintaining our forests and parks, and keeping our land free from pollution.

There is no way to turn back the hands of time, If we are going to get our children outside again, we need to make it easy, safe and fun for parents and their children to rediscover the wonders of nature and old fashioned sense of community.

The goals of No Child Left Inside are to reconnect youngsters with the outdoors, build the next generation of environmental stewards and showcase Connecticut’s state parks and forests.

No Child Left Behind is more than child’s play. It is a sustained effort to entice families and children back outside.

This kind of initiative makes me want to take my son fishing next year in a CT park now more than ever.