Childhood has been cancelled.

I am sorry to say that it would seem childhood has been cancelled. So many of the things that I loved as a kid have long since been banned in fear of injuries and lawsuits. A couple of years ago the big news emerged that recess was just too dangerous and therefore would be eliminated and approximately 40% of US school districts did just that. The rest continued recess but many reduced it to only 15 minutes and even worse, banned all run-and-chase games such as tag, kickball, etc. No touching please! There are actually schools that have banned running altogether.

I personally loved dodge ball. Of course that was banned years ago. I was a quick little girl and was the last one in the middle of the circle most times. What fun it was to throw the ball and pick off the slow kids first. They learned an important lesson...get off your butt and MOVE! But not now, we wouldn't want to hurt anyone's self-esteem...it's okay to be a slow, fat slug as long as you feel good about yourself. What a huge disservice we are forcing on these kids. The real world does judge you if you are a slow, fat slug...as they should. It's called motivation and it is much more profound to learn it from experience than from a motivational poster with a nice quote and beautiful picture of a waterfall or a misty meadow full of wildflowers.

Of course, our brilliant society has offered a solution to the slight problem that lack of exercise causes... and here it is!

A treadmill, for kids. WTF? I'm sure there are a few kids out there who would want to "work out" alongside Mom or Dad but I doubt they would stick to it long enough to get their heart rate up. My boys would find lots of fun things to do with it, all ending in a huge mess and involving Elmo flying across the room and none giving them any physical exercise whatsoever. They would get a "A" for creativity upon completion of their spaceship though. They could always hang their clothing on it just like most adults with a treadmill sitting in their room. There are actually health clubs offering memberships for kids with the pint-sized equipment. Just what these kids need, another activity to work into their already insanely busy schedule. Has anyone wondered why some kids are so stressed and nasty all the time? They have no down time. Kids need down time and they are not getting it.

What ever happened to going to the park, taking a walk, riding your bike, climbing trees, or a neighborhood game of wiffleball with all your friends? Last time I checked these were all great work outs not to mention FREE. Want an added bonus? Join your kids on a bike ride or hike or a game of kickball and get in some family time. (That's a whole other topic for another Friday).

If your child's school has cancelled recess or reduced it to a mere 15 minutes, I am so sorry. What a terrible thing to do to a child. If they do still have recess tell them to run! Run, Forrest, Run!!!!!