In the movie “Wall-E,” people have become tubs of lard who sit in the futuristic equivalent of wheelchairs, being entertained while they gulp soda and stuff their faces with food.
This article about the increasing number of children (not just in the U.S., but around the world) who spend hours indoors eating in front of mindless entertainment offers a depiction that’s uncomfortably similar to the people in “Wall-E.”
Children need healthy food, exercise in the fresh air and parents who will make sure they get both. Homeschooling is a lifestyle that makes this particularly easy. But it requires parents who will chase the kids away from the refrigerator and the big screen and out into the yard.
When I was a kid, we played freely in our neighborhood every day after school. Today we walked to the park with our son and only saw two kids outside. Two! In a city with over 40,000 people, I’d expect to see more than two kids out after school on one of the first warm afternoons of spring.
Sometimes I think our affluence came with too high of a price. What do you think?
hey.. I figured it out!!!
We’re on the same team, Barbara. Wish our kids could play together out in the fresh air!
Blessings,
Carol
When I was 7, my mom would have me walk by myself down to the local convenience store to pick up a loaf of bread or gallon of milk for her from time to time. I wouldn’t do that with my 7 year old today even though we live in a similar low-crime suburb.
The reason is that unlike where I grew up, our neighborhood is a ghost town between 8 and 6. Even when I was out of sight of my own house, my mom could be reasonably sure that I was within sight of a trusted neighbor the entire way. Had something bad happened, at least one neighbor would presumably be able to assist me. Unfortunately, I can’t make that same assumption today. And therefore I don’t feel comfortable giving my kids the same freedom to roam the neighborhood that my brothers and I had 🙁
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