Activities Today's Kids Will Never Know Or Appreciate

I'm eating dinner that includes part of a pre-packed salad, and as I'm about to take a bite of a long strand of grass, I laugh hysterically as my husband grabbed it to whistle. This piece of "salad" is what we used as children to whistle. As my husband and I reminisced about activities we loved when younger that today's kids will never know, we thought about how unfortunate the missed opportunities our children will not experience. The "phone" our parents had that we created as kids was two cans connected with a string. Today's kids have iPhones by age six! We had the joy of random activities to preoccupy us for hours and made us who we are today.

I decided to compile a list, in an effort to expose our daughter to some of the outdoor games we played that no longer seem to be played by kids. Not only are they fun, they keep kids busy and active. I want my daughter to be active and learn more than just how to play games via iPhone, social media, etc. I want her to exercise her body and mind, and the games we played as children build character and whether we got dirty or into trouble, also develop creativity and imagination. I encourage every parent to do some of your childhood favorite activities with your kids. It is more fun than you know, and brings back the kid in you. Here's a list of some of my favorites:

• Freeze Tag
• Climbing trees 
• Capture The Flag
• Looking for bugs, mice, snakes, etc. was an adventure that kept my siblings, friends and I outside until the sun went down.
• Hide And Seek
• Dodge Ball
• Red Light Green Light
• Water balloon fights
• Running through the sprinkler
• Building go-carts, tree-houses, etc.
• Camping in the backyard or at our neighbor's and roasting marshmallows
• Ding Dong Ditch (I'm not encouraging this one, but let's be honest, most parents have done this at some point and it was hilarious!)
• Flag Football
• Roller hockey in the street
• Kick ball
• Frisbee
• Red Rover
• Hacky Sack

Have fun with your kids and happy Monday.

-Leslie Osmond

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