{"id":918,"date":"2015-08-08T01:39:56","date_gmt":"2015-08-08T08:39:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/?p=918"},"modified":"2015-07-31T21:09:17","modified_gmt":"2015-08-01T04:09:17","slug":"the-closeted-generation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/explore.globalcreations.com\/theblog\/featured\/the-closeted-generation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Closeted Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Campfire<\/p>\n

After surveying 2000 parents across the United Kingdom, adventure blog\u00a0Go Ape<\/a> decided that the current generation of kids should be called\u00a0the “Closeted Generation” because they are spending too much time indoors in front of a screen. \u00a0They found that 22% of parents put their kids in front of a screen “because its easier” even though parents know better (49% felt guilty about allowing too much screen time). \u00a0Besides that, \u00a0half of parents worried that their kids were missing out on a variety of outdoor activities.<\/p>\n

Sophie Mason, writing for Go Ape,\u00a0added; “The study also found that this generation of children will astonishingly spend the equivalent of 3.5 days solid in front of a screen during the summer holidays \u2013 that\u2019s 86 hours and 40 minutes that could be spent playing outdoors! \u00a0Sadly, traditional activities like making daisy chains, flying a kite, and fruit picking are at risk of becoming obsolete with the study showing that\u00a0British children are less physically active than their parents were by over\u00a0an hour per day.” \u00a0I don’t know about Sophie’s math, but the point is well taken.<\/span><\/p>\n

Uncloseting Kids<\/h1>\n

Few parents had any concern about sending their kids outdoors, \u00a0so Go Ape concluded that families need help planning outdoor activities with their kids. \u00a0In an effort to help, \u00a0they created\u00a0“Share Adventure<\/a>” a portal where everyone in the UK can describe their outdoor adventures and share them (using 250 characters\u00a0and a photo) with others looking for ideas. \u00a0They have a contest with prizes to encourage people to report their adventures.<\/p>\n

While not a bad idea that probably encourages some families to explore together, \u00a0I think that it might be equally effective to simply limit screen time, take away the cell phones and send the kids outdoors to play. \u00a0That’s something that can be done everyday all summer and will force kids to learn how to play creatively with each other.<\/p>\n

Getting Past the Barriers<\/h1>\n

I know that these days there are a lot of broken families, multiple breadwinners, kids in daycare and kids being cared for by other family members or kid sitters. \u00a0Some kids are even left home alone. \u00a0It’s not as easy as mom sending the kids outside while keeping an eye on them through the window or checking on them from time to time and calling them in for\u00a0breakfast, lunch and dinner. \u00a0Still, it’s so important that kids get outdoors that parents must find a way.<\/p>\n

Ways to Get Kids Outdoors<\/h1>\n

The National Wildlife Federation has \u00a0a goal to get 10 million kids outdoors<\/a>. \u00a0They offer a variety of suggestions including:<\/p>\n