Bayer's Consumer Health Division, (click here) the makers of Claritin®, the #1 selling non-drowsy allergy brand, has teamed up with allergy sufferer Kelly Rowland and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help youth enjoy the benefits of being outdoors. Together with Rowland, a long-time Boys & Girls Clubs supporter, the makers of Claritin will fund the makeover of outdoor spaces at Clubs in three cities across the country.
There may be benefits of time spent outdoors, but it turns out children may not spend much time outside. As we know from a 2004 study, children ages 6 – 17 spend about 30 minutes engaging in outdoor or sports activities per day, while they spend nearly two hours per day watching television. As a brand that encourages people to get outside, Claritin is unveiling a new initiative to help Boys & Girls Clubs create active outdoor spaces for youth....
This is the latest in movements to return children out of doors. Sometimes TV or computer screens are substituted for childcare where adults supervise play outside. This is not a USA phenomena either.
25 October 2016
By Mark Riley Cardwell
There may be benefits of time spent outdoors, but it turns out children may not spend much time outside. As we know from a 2004 study, children ages 6 – 17 spend about 30 minutes engaging in outdoor or sports activities per day, while they spend nearly two hours per day watching television. As a brand that encourages people to get outside, Claritin is unveiling a new initiative to help Boys & Girls Clubs create active outdoor spaces for youth....
This is the latest in movements to return children out of doors. Sometimes TV or computer screens are substituted for childcare where adults supervise play outside. This is not a USA phenomena either.
25 October 2016
By Mark Riley Cardwell
Outdoor games (click here) such as den-building and hide-and-seek seem to belong to a bygone era, having been ousted from children's affections by tablets, games consoles and smartphones.
However, a new campaign launched last night is aiming to challenge this trend, and take steps towards "rewilding" our kids. The Wild Network – a newly formed group of 370 organisations across the UK including the National Trust, RSPB, Play England and the NHS Sustainable Development Unit – is calling for parents to swap half an hour of children's "screen time" for half an hour spent playing outdoors.
The group's members say this would increase children's levels of physical activity and alertness as well as improving their general well-being.
So we want to know what works for you. What tips do you have for getting children out and into nature? What are your favourite outdoor games or challenges?
To kick things off, we asked a range of nature experts, broadcasters and wildlife groups for some of their favourite ways of getting kids excited about nature....
The USA movement was first coined as "Trading Screens for Streams." It is a good idea to have these movement come to the surface from time to time.
April 24, 2014
By Robin Jacobs
The USA movement was first coined as "Trading Screens for Streams." It is a good idea to have these movement come to the surface from time to time.
By Robin Jacobs
...The intensity of her desire (click here) for the screen scared me, as did her foot-dragging reluctance to come for a walk to the playground or even run around in the yard. I needed to get back on track with my parenting priorities, and ask myself some tough questions. Was I holding her back with overprotective fears? When my daughter’s playing her spelling game on the iPad beside me, at least I know she’s safe. Stepping out the front door, she’s vulnerable to a host of unknowns. She could fall off a high rocky bluff and break a bone, get fecal-borne cryptosporidium from the local flock of sheep, find a rusty nail from a recent construction project. When I hear myself and other parents say “she’s just an inside kind of kid,” I have to wonder — am I unconsciously training her to love indoor play to protect her from imagined harm?
Research confirms the health benefits of time spent in “green environments”, especially in unstructured free play. Romping outside lowers stress, reduces obesity, and can even improve ADHD symptoms. What draws kids outside? How can trees, dirt, and rocks compete with the lure of the screen?...
The American Association of Pediatricians recommend screen free zones in a home:
The American Association of Pediatricians recommend screen free zones in a home:
...By limiting screen time (click here) and offering educational media and non-electronic formats such as books, newspapers and board games, and watching television with their children, parents can help guide their children's media experience. Putting questionable content into context and teaching kids about advertising contributes to their media literacy.
The AAP recommends that parents establish "screen-free" zones at home by making sure there are no televisions, computers or video games in children's bedrooms, and by turning off the TV during dinner. Children and teens should engage with entertainment media for no more than one or two hours per day, and that should be high-quality content. It is important for kids to spend time on outdoor play, reading, hobbies, and using their imaginations in free play.
Television and other entertainment media should be avoided for infants and children under age 2. A child's brain develops rapidly during these first years, and young children learn best by interacting with people, not screens.
