Get Outside and Play
“I see great things in baseball, it’s our game, the American game. It will take our people out-of-doors and fill them with oxygen, give them a larger physical stoicism…and be a blessing to us.”
~American Poet, Walt Whitman
Walt Whitman is arguably one of the greatest literary figures of the United States. He is responsible for a multitude of great works that are still relevant and being taught today a hundred and twenty-five years after his death. One of my favorite observations by Whitman was his love of our great American past time, baseball. We call it Americas game because of the great love affair we as a nation have had with the sport since the early days of it being played. Whitman who was born in 1819 grew up during a time when baseball was born and grew into national importance. What Whitman saw in the game was an opportunity for people of all ages to get out of places of work and get some fresh air and invigorate the body. Consider that the average working hours per week in 1850 was close to 70 hours per week…and people almost never worked on Sundays so you do the math. During the 1800’s, baseball was our game…our only game. Basketball’s first public game came in March of 1892, just 15 days before Walt Whitman passed away and American football was only in its infancy having been first played in 1869 as a hybrid of rugby and football and was considered a boorish game that many colleges disallowed. So, baseball was the pride of American and one of our greatest writers considered it a good thing to encourage the people of our country to get up and go “out-of-doors.”
Fast forward to the height of summer, 2017. Today, people still love baseball but there are a plethora of other activities that engage the population of our land and takes up our free time, things that Walt Whitman never could have dreamed of. Many children today have the comfort of an airconditioned home, a flat screen television hanging on the wall and a smart phone or tablet in their hand. Many youths today don’t have to worry about finding a job and if they work there are very strict rules limiting the number of hours they are allowed to work each week, (child labor laws were born out of the 1800’s designed to protect children). Today, there are snacks in the refrigerator or pantry only a few feet away and the virtual reality headsets block out the sunlight as some kids spend hours in alternate realities fighting the dreadful aliens from some other world never having seen the natural beauty right outside their own front door. We as a nation have more free time than ever but are spending less and less time outside engaged in play, exercise or exploration. One of the many results of this lack of play outside and the readily availability of snacks to sedentary kids is a rampant escalation of childhood obesity. The last First Lady of the White House, Michelle Obama, made this cause her cause and through her efforts and the efforts of so many others, awareness has been raised and more and more organizations are pushing efforts to get kids outside for at least an hour a day to play.
As a working parent of young children, I know it is sometimes a challenge to come home from work and find the energy to go outside and play with your kids…I get it. I also understand that I am doing them a dis-service if I just come home and collapse in my comfy chair and reach for my own tech to read the news, check email, etc. Kids need to be taught to play just as much as they need to be taught other necessities in life…one rarely just wakes up and learns to ride a bike on their own…children thirst to learn new skills and as parents, it’s our responsibility to show our kids the way be it in the classroom, in the working world or on the field of play. Playing with your kids will open up a whole new pathway of communication and new levels of trust between you and your children and that will pay huge dividends down the road when your kids face life and the challenges it will throw at them. If your kids are a bit older, try and find activities they will enjoy and at least meet them halfway but get them outside…I mean, who doesn’t love to take a hike and have a picnic?
I hope everyone has a great week this week and if you’re looking for something new to try, a new game to wrap your head around, the Women’s World Cup for Cricket has their semi-final matches this week with the championship match being held July 23 in London…just in case you were interested. Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.
Wm Reid
Best Home Care Services
325 N Eastern Ave
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-9833
wmreid@bhcshealth.com