" Go out and Play" Really?

I also remember the neighborhood of my childhood. We played outdoors and it seemed there were always people that kept an eye on us as we felt safe. We could go into a friend´s house for a glass of water (no sodas then) if we got too thirsty. And we could have first aid anywhere too if we needed a bandaid or some cleaning on a wounded knee. The problems we encountered mainly were those knees with a tendency to be hurt. It´s a pity now. My grandchildren´s playmates are computers. Shame!

I was never allowed to play outside. I wasn't even allowed in our own closed-off yard or the backyard. I wasn't allowed to play with neighbor kids (not that there were many to play with anyway) and I wasn't allowed to go out with friends. The issue that arose that led to the commercials is the fact that there is a huge market for media entertainment for children so there are a lot of children who don't WANT to go outside or be active. They sit on the couch watching TV, playing video games or on the internet. They don't get the physical or intellectual stimulation that is crucial for healthy development and also lends to child obesity.

more and more kids are becomming obese due to lack of physical activity, but you are right, some neighbourhoods just arent the best to go out and play in. our schools here in my province have added 20 minutes of physical activity for each child (besides their regular gym class) but i am not sure if that is enough.

Part of the problem though is the video games etc that they are allowed to play instead of getting fresh air and exercise...granted some places they can't just go out and play...sometimes however some parents like the fact that with tv and video games they are entertained without parental supervision...instant babysitter!

Oh yes, i do encourage my kids to play outside, my husband encourages our children to play soccer..and run outside. It is sad because some do not play outside anymore because some are addicted to computers and would rather stay indoors playing computers all day and watching tv all day. They tend to not have any physical ativity that also endanger their health. kids should know how to run and play!

I don't know what to say about that because I have not seen the commercial, but I know if I had young kids I would NOT tell them to go out and play, yea back in the day it was safe but now kids are playing outside with little to no supervision and it is a sad thing because this world is not safe anymore!!! There are a lot of creeps outside and that is sad if I had younger kids and they wanted to play outside I would be right by their side every second! Because that is all it takes is a second when you turn away from Stranger Danger!! Take Care.

Fortunately...my kids love to play outside and bug me all day to go out and play. Though they are addicted to the television, they would prefer outdoors to watching television (thank goodness). I do not give in to their demands of getting a playstation and they aren't allowed to go to other people's homes daily to play on an X-box or whatever it is that the kids are glued to nowadays. They may go to play board games and once in a while they are allowed the luxury of these 'computer games'. But most days they are outside playing cricket or cycling...and sometimes swimming. Our apartment complex is safe enough for them to go downstairs and play...and I can keep an eye from the window. The security guards do not let the kids go out of the building complex...so there is nothing for me to worry about....even when it gets dark.

Was it the one put out by the NFL, at least I think it was them? I saw that one several times but not recently. I guess with spring supposedly here that's why they're running it now. It sure is sad and I think the main problem is too many kids are hooked on video games and TV, which is why they don't want to go out and play and why there are so many overweight kids these days. I was like you as a child, my mom had to yell for me to come in when it was starting to get dark. We didn't need a lot of fancy, expensive toys either, we somehow always managed to have fun without them. I used to always think when I was delivering mail how there were so many swimming pools on my route and so many really nice swing sets and other neat things for the kids to play in and on but the only thing missing were the kids! I knew there were tons of kids in the neighborhoods but they just never did a anything outside. I'd have been so thrilled to have had all the things they have but they don't even use them! Annie

And this is the reason why so many kids are obese because they stay inside and play video games all day. Growing up my yard was the biggest on the block, I had a tree swing and the neighborhood kids would come in my yard and we'd run around, swing, play tag, play kickball. We rode our bikes, had roller skates. We'd make up games and just run around until it got dark. There were video games but I was never interested in them so I never had any, didn't care about them at all and still don't to this day.

My dad would lock us out of the house and tell us to "go blow the stink off" and we'd be outside for hours, although we were out there all the time anyway. We didn't have tv and only board games that took at least 2 to play. These days kids are in front of the tv or other "screened" item so much that parents don't bother to make them go play, although, these days also...where do they go play that is safe? We used to go to the school playgrounds and even play in our front yards...these days kids can't go play alone...parent has to be around for safety and with working parents..but still...at least make them play Twister or something!

Hi. sarahruthbeth22. I have not seen this particular commercial at all. I have seen many kids still play outside and walk around outside a lot where I live at. I just don't let my kids be outside all by themselves. We have a road right beside our trailer. And in front of our trailer is a busy street where almost every two to three seconds, there is always a car coming down the road. So, I am very cautious about my children just playing outside, especially when it is all by themselves. I don't want my kids to be all by themselves outside or at least most of the time. I also have a huge ditch that is about 15 to 20 inches long that is in my front yard at the curb. I definitely would not want my kids to go anywhere near this ditch. They could fall into it and get stuck in it.

One of the big problems today, is that we haven't helped kids develop their imaginations. When I was a kid, it wasn't until about 3 days before summer vacation was over that we got bored. Today our neighborhood kids complain of being bored right away. When my hubby and I got married, his daughter was 9. We got her every other weekend. And when she arrived, she was bored. But she had never explored the huge back yard with a magnifying glass. She had never made mud pies or just played in the yard with the sprinkler. She and her friends had never made a neighborhood gossip newspaper. Not only do they stay indoors too much, but they also want to be entertained - either by adults or TV, internet and video games.

I know what you mean Sarah. Just today, I had to drag my son out to catch some balls. Instead of playing at home with his Wii. Of course it helped that I wanted to try out my new baseball gloves. It was muddy outside, but we had fun!

I am ready to send my child outside to play, but my child is not ready. All other children in our neighborhood is join together and play from morning to evening. I compelled my child many times to play with them and I told her that it is healthy. But she doesn't like to mingle with them. She spend most of her free time in front of computer. She likes online games. She is interested in art and craft also. She is a good dancer. Every week end she goes to learn dance and music. In her school she has lot of friends and she likes to play with them. Two years before she used to play with her friends who are near our home. One day one of her friend teased her. She felt it as bad. Slowly she began to stay away from them even though they called her many times to join with them. At last they stopped to call her. Now she is enjoying her holidays with indoor games.

I totally accept you. there is one more strong reason for parents hesitation. Parents are so scared about accidents. specially accidents from vehicles. In a country like Germany children have to play in front of their house on the road. the vehicle drivers are not so careful. any how outside play is always good. you can see my opinion in this article also. http://children-ourchildren.blogspot.com/2011/01/children-learn-from-outside-of-house.html