Summer has kicked in and already I can see how the kids' brains have turned to MUSH. Not just my kids, but kids in general.
I can remember when summer kicked in and I just couldn't wait to get my butt outside and play, all day, every day! We played from the time our mom would let us out the door until the STREET LIGHTS came on. And I don't really remember coming in the house unless it was raining. You know why? You remember how Mama was! IF YOU BRING YOUR BUTT BACK IN THIS HOUSE ONE MORE TIME YOU'RE GONNA STAY IN!
And we didn't want to stay in! Okay, granted, I do live in the south now, and not in the north like when I was a child, and the sweltering heat may very well give the kiddos a heat stroke if they tried to stay out there as long as we did, but THERE IS A WATER HOSE OUT THERE! Do like we did. Everybody go to one person's house and take a swig from the hose and keep it movin'!
Kids nowadays WANT to be in the house! Sir Talks-A-Lot will go outside and comeback in the house in about 30minutes complaining of nothing to do.
Where has imagination gone? Where has Hide and Go Seek, Mother May I and Red Rover gone? We didn't need Rip Sticks and basketball goals to keep us occupied. We had this strange contraption called, get this..... IMAGINATION.
Remember that?
I guess that now that kids have Wii and Playstations, DS's and Xbox's, the imagination is gone. These games do the thinking for them.
I can't stand hearing how bored my kids are, even in the house because it tells me that they are not thinking.
But outside? There's a HUGE world of nothing but adventure when you walk out the front door. A plethora of opportunities to create whole new worlds of adventure. (can you tell I played by myself a lot?)
Would you believe they had no idea how to play RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT last summer?
I'm surely not gonna let them sit up and rot their brains,watching TV and playing video games all summer. They are going to have to learn to be creative and think of ways to entertain themselves like we did.
So Red Light Green Light is lame, you say? Well let's play FOLD THE STACK OF LAUNDRY, DUST THE TABLES, or CLEAN THE BASEBOARDS instead. How about that? We can make a day out of it, how about that? No one will be board anymore!
I'm hoping to bring back imagination this summer. Hoping the neighborhood kids will join in. Because my carpets can't take the constant in and out and my ears can't take one more whinin' I'M BORED!
4 comments:
I couldn't have said it better! You know what? Get a little dirt and a water hose and make a village for your hotwheels to drive on. We'd make a "clubhouse" under our neighbor's big rig that he drove. We rode bikes and played freeze tag. When it was hot, we played in the sprinklers or in the pool. We also went to the library where they had summer reading programs. The incentives were great. There were crafts, snacks and prizes. A win, win situation.
You may want to make a new summer rule that for every "I'm bored" that's 10 minutes off of the Wii or DS and 10 minutes washing walls.
Ha!!!! I love the "lets clean the house" game......perfect!!!
UGGHHH. My kids still have 2 days of school left and they're already complaining of being bored. I cannot comprehend how they can't figure out how to play together. There's only 3 yrs difference in their age. Nothing is "fun" unless they can have a friend over. And if friends can't come over their life is so boring...worst life ever...yada, yada, yada. Can you tell I've had a rough day with them, *sigh*?
BTW, I've tried the cleaning game when they're bored and that's no "fun" either...but at least some of the housework gets done ;o)
My husband and I were just talking about this very thing the other day. My kids will not go outside and play for very long (unless there are other children)...it is really sad. My mom had to come get us and bring us in at night, we stayed outside ALL day, those were the days...
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