Worldwide Day of Play - September 24, 2011

Have you heard of the Worldwide Day of Play?  It's the centerpiece of Nickelodeon's The Big Help, a program to empower kids and families to make healthy lifestyle choices every day.  On September 24, 2011, kids and families are encouraged to participate in the Worldwide Day of Play to turn off the TV and play outside.

My husband and I had very different experiences playing outside when we were growing up.  My daughters are having a different experience as well.

As a kid, my husband played outside all day, rode his bike everywhere, and basically stayed out from the time the sun came up to the time the sun went down.  He lived in a cul-de-sac and had lots of kids in the neighborhood to play with. One of his neighbors didn’t have children, but they let all the neighborhood kids swim in their pool all summer long. My husband has fond memories of his days in the sunshine and his nights of catching fireflies with his neighborhood pals.

On the other hand, I lived in the country as a kid and there were no kids around to play with. Our closest neighbors were an elderly couple. They had a beautiful fig tree in their front yard and I loved to visit them. Their grandchildren were older and didn’t visit often, so I became their surrogate granddaughter. They were very, very sweet to me. But most of my time was spent indoors. I was an Atari pro and I remember every 80s video from the start of MTV. Yes, I am giving my age away!

Now with my daughters, their outdoor experience is unique from either my husband or me. We have a fenced in backyard and a swing set. The kids can play outside while I watch them from the kitchen window, but I don’t leave them unattended very long. I also do not let the girls ride bikes throughout the neighborhood, only in our cul-de-sac. Sometimes I wonder if I would do things differently if I had sons instead of daughters. I don’t know, but my main priority is keeping my daughters safe.

Times are very different from back when my husband had free reign of his neighborhood. It’s easy to long for times-gone-by, but I am happy my daughters don’t know any different and enjoy spending time together in our backyard.

They also love to play with our dog outside, and he’s pretty good at letting us know if there are any problems in the backyard, namely squirrels, chipmunks and woodpeckers! LOL!

The main thing we do as a family is get in the car and head to a state park that's about 5 minutes from our home.  It has an absolutely wonderful walking path. We walk around the lake with the dog and get in some exercise. The kids love to watch the ducks and feed them bread; that is, when we remember to bring it! There’s also a great playground at the park and we try to give the kids some time to play. All five of us come home tired!

Physical activity can improve health, self-esteem and the well being of children. Clorox 2 is a proud sponsor of Nickelodeon's 8th Annual Worldwide Day of Play. Check out the Clorox2 Play 2Day Pledge hub, http://clorox2play2day.com,  and take the pledge to play outside!


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.