Children love to play and so do many adults too. Our children are lucky in many ways, what with the range of toys, games and entertainments available to them. We don’t need to list them all but they have access to the kinds of electronic gadgetry and games that we could only dream of when we were young. My old Commodore VIC-20 was electronic for sure but that’s about as close as it gets to sharing anything with a PlayStation or a Wii! People say electronic games nowadays are too involved and that children spend too long playing inside fantasy worlds where all the hard work is done for them and that these games lack the creativity that used to go along with play when we were young. I’m not sure I agree (it was pretty involving having to spend a day typing BASIC commands into a VIC-20 all day for an hour or so of actual play – until my sisters wanted the TV back!) but the general drift towards playing indoors is a real one. Children (and adults) spend less time playing outdoors than their parents did – there are many possible reasons but they don’t concern me here. We all know that children gain enormous mental and physical benefits from playing outdoors:
- developing problem solving skills
- learning how to share and socialise
- appreciating risk and making judgement calls
- having fun
- understanding nature more
- appreciating that physical exercise makes us happy
We all know these things, but we also know how difficult it can be to set and meet new targets based on a lifestyle change. Children love playing with their electronic gadgets, socialising via their smart phones and listening to music on their MP3 players and, to be frank, so do most adults.
At Freaky Rivet we’re not going to expect you to tear through the hi-tech ways of having fun and take up cross country running as a family. No, we’re going to give you access to a whole new set of child-centred activities that combine outdoor and explorative play with the use of the very hi-tech kits that children use so skilfully.
Join us and together we’ll really make a difference to the health, happiness and creativity of your children AND you!
- … and lets not forget that children that tend to play outdoors more tend to be obese less