Get Your Child Offline and Outdoors

HOW PATHETIC! I can't believe there's even a STORY like this! Wake up folks. YOU are the parent. If you don't take charge now, you will be in store for lots of unnecessary work. Set boundaries for your children and stick to them. If they don't like it, simply tell them that it's your responsibility to teach them. Short and sweet. And, if you can't handle that, what the hell did you have them for?

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today s kids are lazy and so are their gen xer parents there not biblical creatures they scoff at God s word mmmm a race of offshoot apes?

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Kids can also Discover the Forest at DiscoverTheForest.org
There are tips for parents on things to do outdoors and where the closest national forest is. You can follow the US Forest Service and their spokes-squirrel @Cheecker on Twitter too and on Facebook at discovertheforest

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Yes my kids did spend SOME time inside and did play on the computer/video games, but in small time increments. They are inside for the majority of the school year so outside time in the summer is premium. We also lived in a very hot and humid place, but like I told my kids-there was a time when there were no air conditioners and people who used common sense survived,so play outside before the heat is at its peak. Yes they complained when we made them go outside-nothing wrong with a parent telling a kid, because I told you to that is why. I have been thanked many times since and in many different ways, no damage to parent child relationship here. Like two a days in football, working in a pre-cast concrete company (my brothers) where they said 90 degrees was cool, and on mission trips to New Orleans, said yea it was really hot but hey it is summer. My best thanks came from my oldest when he called home the first week of college to tell me I would not believe how many boys did not have a ball glove at school or even own a glove and that most of the kids he met never drank from a hose (how else do you get a drink when you play outside, and he did not die from a horrible illness either). He thought those things just came with being a kid. I have worked with kids for over 30 years and in many different ways, and have seen the changes in their lives. I do not believe they are good, this country is raising a bunch of sissy, soft and whiny kids. And yes mine stayed connected to the world, not hard to do if as a parent if you take the time and require things from them, like sitting down at the dinner table together and discussing word/community events, believe me they learn fast and have very well thought out opinions if you give them a chance. While parenting can be hard to do it is mostly common sense and using your natural resources-like your parents- to get advice. Do we really need a computer to help our kids get unplugged or even organized camps/sports (my kids did do some) just to get them to play. How about "Camp Kid," you know where the kids are in control playing a game with each other and working out their problems amoung themselves. And "Camp Parent," where parents actually parent their children, have control in their own homes and not rely on a machine or some expert worried that little Johnny may get their feelings hurt. And we can leave the "experts" out of it.

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here's a novel thought...you tell the kid one minute, YOU go back in one minute and pull the plug...it's not rocket science here, it's called follow through.

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Send your kids to summer camp!! They will make new friends, learn new skills, and be in the outdoors.

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YOU ARE FIGHTING A SUNUMI

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wow! this is a really bad article, no offense to the author, i imagine there are a slue of parents this article will actually help, but it is sad to think this is how disconnected parents are from there kids. why do you need to hack your kids computer to get them outside, wheres the authority?! just turn that sh** off!! you are the parent! take their chargers, plugs, or whatever they have to charge these machines. let them get one charge a day, maybe more if they've earned it. set a precedent and they will eventually get with the program, if it sounds like that's too much work it is, it's called parenting. And how are you going to tell them they can't use there tech toys and then take them outside and use a GPS, an adult tech toy? I guess we're teaching our kids how to be lazy and hypocrites. Use a friggin' map and a compass, it's called orienteering, if you really want to teach them something, bc isn't that our tasks as parents anyway? to teach our children how to survive this earth the best we can. We don't need to teach them about new technology or new fads, that's what they teach us. Teach them how pioneers and natives to our land navigated through the stars,landmarks, and tracking. fly a kite, build a birdhouse, plant veggies, fruits, or plants they like together even if you live in an apartment, you can use a mobile planter, which would actually benefit the household when it's harvest time. and if there still craving technology go lo-tech, teach them the basics like putting a model airplane together from scratch or showing them how a ham radio works, or teach them Morse code and say it's a secret language, which it kind of is, they'll love that

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Everytime someone brings up the whole calculator thing, I like to point out that very few people know how to read a sundial. The point being that over time, some things become obsolete and are replaced by something else. The sundial has been replaced by clocks and watches and became obsolete, so no one knows how to work one anymore.

That isn't to say that we don't need to teach kids to add and subtract without a calculator, we most certainly do. But as time goes on, it will be less and less necessary to do more complicated equations by hand. It is simply a fact of life.

Now they want to do away with cursive writing in schools. I have issue with that because there will always be a time when you need to write something, even something as simple as your name, at least for the foreseeable future. If they get rid of paper all together, then yes, handwriting and even printing will become obsolete.

I'm a huge fan of books. And for some books, nothing electronic can replace them. But for the types of books you read once and get rid of, I'm all about the nook. As for kids, I'm happy to see kids reading. I don't care if they are reading a nook, a computer or the back of a cereal box. I think reading in any and all forms should be encouraged, not discouraged.

Having said that, of course kids should be discouraged from sitting in front of a video game all day and night. That, as some people have stated is a parental issue. It's no different than what they said about my generation being parked in front of the television as a babysitter. Parents can limit play time in front of the computer, but it is up to them to take the responsibility to do it. Give them a small amount of time per day and allow them to earn more time up to a certain limit.

One of the problems I see in the current generation of young parents is that they often believe having children shouldn't change or disrupt their lives, and as a consequence, they aren't willing to step up and take charge. Yeah, it's annoying to listen to them whine and complain. It was annoying to our parents. But the difference is that our parents didn't cave in the way many of my generation and consequently this generation does. Being a parent isn't convenient. If you aren't into being inconvenienced, you shouldn't be having kids.

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Did you buy the computer, pay for the services, provide room and board? Who is in charge of your household? Enough said!

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There has to be a solution, and quick in order to save our Children.

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...what a crazy waste of time article...
1. who's in charge
2. who's paying the bills
3. who's the most wise
4. a simple command is all you need...wow
...choices I wish I had choices back in the day...
.....so stupid

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We live where its 1000 degrees & humid also. My daughter & I have reframed our dread of burning up while playing outside with my 4 yr. old grandson. It's a mental thing to reframe something. We both know & believe that sweating is very good for us & is one of the best ways to detox our bodies (which helps weight management). We talked & joked about it & now we grin at each other & think of it as a "health & beauty" moment. It worked! My grandson's rip roaring joy at being outside already existed & frankly, I never minded the heat either. This was a way to make it fun for my daughter too.

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I don't even unplug to eat! I'm eating right now...

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This article is one of the dumbest I've read on here. Try to make one hour -ONE hour!- a tech-free hour? This is ridiculous, and it should read the other way 'round, as in letting your kids have only one hour of video games a day.
Parents need to stop letting techno gadgets be their children's friends or babysitters and get their kids out and moving. During summer break, except for an hour in the morning when my kids have to do some math/reading/writing (so they don't forget it all), my kids are outside riding their bikes and playing with the other kids in our street. They don't come inside unless they need to use the bathroom or are hungry/thirsty. On average they spend 9-10 hours playing outside in the summer, just like they should to stay happy and healthy. They also know what real, old-fashioned books are because that's what we have. No e-books here. They also don't have any videogames. I don't believe in the stuff. I'm a genX-er, and while videogames started to emerge in my preteen years they have changed drastically from fun, harmless games to violence-fueled ones. As for the one person who said that kids who don't keep up on the newest gadgets become outsiders at school: my kids aren't on this planet to please other kids. While the ''in" kids are playing with their games my kids are actually learning something and participate in the real world, not a virtual one.

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I got the kids two apps to use outdoors, the MyNature Animal Track App and the Tree ID Guide. They both love going outdoors to identify nature stuff now, a win win situation and their learning and loving it.

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I have 2 teenagers that are my step-kids and 1 nine year old boy. I was stunned years ago when we became a blended family that my teenagers could spend 18 hours a day on the television or the computer (or both at the same time). However, my 9 year old was not privy to TV during the week at all. Our youngest is a very self-creative boy for entertainment and activities. Tuning out the world, though, meant they were wasting some of the funnest years of their lives and my youngest was waiting for them to join him in "anything". So I planned a ton of outdoor activities, road trips, bike rides, dogs to park, festivals, etc. Many things that never cost money except maybe gas and picnic food. At first it was overbearing to them, but when each was attending their football or soccer games, we were ALL there. No cell phones for our kids ( there is facebook for updates when permitted ) and no more Tivo.... I cancelled the cable. I told them when their lives get excitintg enough for someone to pay them to record it, they can then afford their own cable. Yes it takes effort to do this and hold a job, but all of this is done in fun & games. It worked because I sit right now with my laptop being the only electronic item "on" in the house.

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"If you cant beat the join them" oh GOD no. That the LAST thing we need. Coming from a teenager who is on the internet all day, the very last thing I want is my parents to be joining in on what I do on the internet. Because according to all parents, everyone is a pedophile on the internet. Commenting on a videos is different than giving someone your information. If you do then your just stupid. mo people are smart enough to not do anything stupid. As a matter of fact, us kids probably know more about computers than our parents do! If you really want to get us out of the house, TAKE US SOMEWHERE. Its not rockets science. I'm not going to go outside in 100 degree weather so I can sweat my ass off. Take me somewhere that doesnt cost much money, and gets me out fo the house. Even going to walmart is an event. and just remember, when you point fingers, there 3 fingers pointing back at you, I probably ask my parents to go somewhere 3-4 times a day, but they dont because they themselves are too busy doing whatever they do on the internet. I'm sick of all these articles that gives parents BS advice on how they should parent their kids.

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Here's another new, cool way to get techie kids outdoors - the new iNature Trail at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. It is the first to use QR code scan technology on smart phones to connect kids (and adults) to interactive YouTube videos. Check out www.dingdarlingsociety.org. And watch for more to open in refuges near you.

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