One cold, rainy evening, I was out on the balcony enjoying a cup of steaming hot coffee and gazing at the vacant land nearby. Some kids from the neighboring streets were playing football there, dripping wet but thoroughly enjoying themselves!! Inside, I could hear the chatter of Doraemon and Nobita, floating in from the TV to which my son was glued. Ever since the rains had begun, I had stopped him from playing outside, worried about possible infections or a cold. And here were these boys, having so much fun in the rain, that even I was tempted to join them! This got me thinking: By wrapping our kids in cotton wool, are denying them opportunities for regular exercise?
When I read about how a fellow blogger, Vishaka, was planning to use the fitbit charger to get fit, I wanted to get myself one too. But while I was focusing on my fitness, here I was, neglecting my child’s! My 6 year old son had always wanted a scooter to race in the playground but we were not sure whether he would be able to handle it properly. He has a bicycle, but it was too tame compared to the excitement of propelling the scooter forward with his feet and racing with his friends!
Experts agree that there are many benefits for kids playing outdoors. It promotes social skills, improves bone strength, prevents obesity, increases concentration, reduces stress and helps in improving their Vitamin D levels. Here are a few ways you can get kids to engage in more outdoor play:
1. Set a curfew for technology, including TV, computers and smartphones
2. Find a safe, clean outdoor space to play
3. Encourage your neighbor’s kids to play outside too
4. Growing some plants will make your child more open to messing with mud and leaves
5. Get them equipment that should be used outdoors, like skates or jump rope.
So I decided; come rain or shine, my son also deserves to play outdoors and have lots of messy fun!! I realized that getting him the scooter as a surprise would be the perfect way to motivate him to play outdoors. So I plugged in the laptop and logged in to Flipkart.
My search soon came to an end when I came across this Sunny blue scooter – just what he wanted, and that too in his favourite color!
Needless to say, my son couldn’t wait for Wishman to fulfill his wish!! After I wrote this article, he got super excited every time an ekart delivery van was seen in our compound; he wanted it to be for him!
And so the day finally arrived when the Sunny scooter was delivered, and my little champ was on cloud nine!! He wasted no time in unwrapping it and immediately set about vrooming through our corridor. He wanted to have a spin around the block, and I was so glad to see him so excited about playing outside!!
So Moms, forget about the mess and the laundry. This is when kids should play, so let them. You’ll be setting the stage for an active and healthy tomorrow, so a few mud stains are totally worth it!!