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You know you've been indoors too long when you look up at a beautiful blue sky full of white puffy clouds and immediately think about the opening scene of The Simpsons.
Not "Gee, what a great day for kite flying" or even "What are those things in the sky? Oh, yeah -- birds."
So to help make sure my son doesn't become a couch potato, we're going to celebrate Take a Child Outside Week. Tomorrow through Sept. 30 is considered Take a Child Outside Week. People -- particularly parent-type people, I suppose -- are encouraged to lead kids in fun activities outdoors. Not just push them out the door and tell the kids to go play, sans handheld games. Naw, you've got to actually do stuff with the child.
Stuff like turning a blade of grass into a kazoo, looking at the stars, misting a spider web or playing in puddles. Easy and harmless. (Hugging a tree is optional.)
Maybe I'll take the Man-cub to one of our favorite parks that have boardwalks through a swamp. Or maybe we'll go back to our new favorite beach. Maybe we'll just look for caterpillars in our yard.
I think it will make a difference to him. Apparently, kids who are "disconnected from nature" have a greater chance of having attention deficit disorders and depression. Kids who don't play outside are more likely to be obese, which has a way of shortening a lifespan.
And if kids learn to love nature, they will want to protect it. As the Senegalese environmentalist Baba Dioum said, "We will conserve only what we love, we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we have been taught."
Or, as Tropic of Mom says, "Teach your kids how to be dirty."
Oops, that's not right. What I mean is "Show your kids the real world." Kids should not shriek in terror at seeing a humble earthworm. They need to know there is life beyond Wii. And because my son would be happy playing with cars and watching Teletubbies inside all day, I know I have to be the one to make sure he gets outside.
And I have to make sure when he looks up at a blue sky dotted with clouds, he doesn't think of this:
