Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I hope that everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday. In spite of a little rain on Saturday, we spent a great deal of the weekend outdoors... Of course, we do have a graduation coming up in a couple weeks and need to get some "chores" done. But even if that wasn't the case, we would have spent much of our time outside. The same is true with my child care. We enjoy being outdoors. The children and I go out every day (weather permitting) all year long. And this time of year, we spend most of our days outdoors
The following article concerns me in that it appears that many children don't get enough outside play. Yes I can empathize with those caregivers who have parents that do not bring children dressed appropriately for play, but I think that is an issue to be addressed with the parents, not an excuse to stay indoors.The Flip-Flop Factor: Why Day Care Kids Don’t Play Outside
What’s keeping your child inside?Outdoor play at day care centers is often stifled because a child arrives wearing flip-flops or without a coat or because teachers don’t feel like going outside.
Those were some of the surprising findings from a new study of children’s physical activity in day care settings. More than half of American children between the ages of 3 and 6 are in child care centers or preschools.
Researchers at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center held focus groups with staff members at 34 area child care centers to learn more about how kids spend their time in day care and the reasons they may or may not spend time outside.
Many of their answers were unexpected. Day care workers keep children inside if they show up in flip-flops rather than sneakers or if they don’t have a coat on a chilly day. Sometimes, the entire class is kept indoors if one child doesn’t have appropriate clothes for outdoor play. One problem is that parents who don’t want their child going outside on a given day will intentionally keep the child’s coat so he or she will be kept indoors.
Read the entire article and share your opinions... What about it? Do you do outdoors?
