The article I choose to read is called "Out of the Woods: Today's Kids Can't See the Forest for the MTV", by Joel Achenbach. The article is about how today's kids spend way too much time inside and don't enjoy spending time outside. The author of the article also compares his summers as a kid to the summers that his kids have and then ends by saying that ultimately its the parents overprotective ways that keeps their kids indoors.
In a way, I do agree with the author that kids spend too much time indoors because I remember my mother telling me when I was a kid to "Go Outside!". The author said playing in the woods was the funnest thing he could do as a kid, but I didn't grow up anywhere near woods to go play in them when I felt like it and there was no way my mother would of let me venture far enough away from my house to go explore the woods when I felt like it; usually the most fun I had outside was when I would throw random things I found in my front yard. However, I was always compelled to stay indoors as a kid because I could find many more entertaining things to do compared to going outside. When the author was a kid, if he had access to games where he could be a space commander and command his crew to save the universe from an ancient alien race, or computers/ phones where he could contact his friends whenever he wanted, or the ability to go on the internet and find out why people are so fascinated with cats, things may have been different from him. Why go outdoor when you can stay inside and do so many fun things? Who knows? Maybe its all the gadgets and goodies that kids have access to, or their parents being overly protective that keeps them indoors. One thing is certain that today's kids defiantly had a different childhood compared to the authors generation.
You make some good points. As a young mother (when the weather is permitting) I always try to get my kids outside for some fresh air each day. In fact this winter is killing me and them! However, one other difference between generations is the sickening fear in society today. I don't remember there being so many cases of kidnappings, random killings, sexual offenders, etc. As a child I don't recall these fears permeating the air when my brothers and I roamed our neighborhood freely. Today, I would be hard pressed to let my children take off by themselves. Maybe there is not more fear today, maybe it is just our society is more aware of dangers due to technology. Irregardless, spending time outside is a habit that kids learn from example. If parents stay inside all day glued to a computer, why would kids think any differently?
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