From screens to outdoor play: activity ideas to get your family moving

However, the work doesn't stop there! When we look into the subject, it's interesting to note that screen use quickly takes the place of outdoor play. When we meet, many people tell me that their children don't like to “play” outside and that screens (tablet, cell phone, television, computer) take up a considerable place in their lives. Simply forbidding the use of a screen invariably leads to a meltdown.

So I wondered about the impact screens had on my own childhood. I remembered that at the age of seven, I got my first Nintendo console for Christmas; I also remember the extreme joy I felt at that moment. I loved playing Dr. Mario on the console, and I could spend hours trying to “beat” my records and take on my brother in head-to-head battles. My parents even had to set a firmly defined time limit for using the console, because my brother and I would surely have spent far more time having fun inside the house. However, when my parents said “everybody outside!” we happily got dressed and left our console behind. For me, it wasn't just a chance to go outside and watch the grass grow, it was a time to put my creativity to work and invent a multitude of games (hide-and-seek, tag, kick the can, cowboys and Indians, and all the games we could invent with sticks or stones). Come to think of it, I must have spent more time outside the house than inside. Rain or shine, I was outside regularly... as long as I was back in time for Passe-Partout (a classic Quebec kids' show)!

The neighborhood kids came over to play with us, and we'd part ways just before dark or when our parents called our names, and only if the parents weren't already outside too! Thinking about it, screens weren't a reward for me, or even a bone of contention when I misbehaved. In fact, being kept inside the house was probably the biggest consequence.

And yet, the years go by and social pressure keeps growing. Today, when I talk to some parents, they tell me that the only consequence that works with their child is cutting off access to screens. When I do my grocery shopping, many kids have their noses glued to a cell phone… And what about the “at least he's calm!”? Yes, maybe, but is that really what the child needs at that precise moment of their day? We could ask ourselves all sorts of questions: is it really that the child can't part with their screen, or is it that they're so absorbed by the images and movement on the screen that they can't tear themselves away?

Yet at school or with friends, many kids apparently enjoy going out to play, so why doesn't that seem to be the reality at home? Of course, I won't be offering a miracle solution today. However, I'd like to open up a discussion about the “extraordinary” use of screens by children. In fact, could it be that we take it for granted that our kids don't like to play outside? In fact, the children who don't find enjoyment in outdoor play are usually the ones who don't know what to do out there. And yet, children are the “experts” of imagination and role-playing. So why is it such a burden to put on our sunglasses and go take a big breath of fresh air?

When I was a child, I remember playing with my parents outside the house. However, when I look at today's reality, I often see something else! There seem to be fewer families sharing enjoyable moments outside the home, with screens taking over instead. From talking with some of the parents around me, time and energy seem to be one of the reasons for the drop in physical activity.

But since “according to Canadian physical activity guidelines, a school-age child should get about 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day,” here are a few suggested activities to get there:

• Walk to the convenience store or to school;
• Take a walk with the dog;
• Give our kids household chores: for example, emptying the dishwasher, taking the garbage bags outside, helping rake the leaves in the fall and even lending a hand shovelling the yard in winter;
• Use the cell phone to promote physical activity; apps like Pokémon Go or Geocaching let you get out of the house with the kids and take part in physical activities all together;
• Use the Just Dance Now or Wixx apps for even more ideas!

Even though we sometimes run out of ideas or time is a source of stress, physical activity isn't rocket science!

Would you like first access to all the content published in the Magazine each month, plus our Toolbox, which includes, among other things, free downloads that are as practical as they are fun? Subscribe to Belles Combines Magazine today!