Kids Belong Outside.

[Palamon]

What should kids under the age of 10 be doing, in your opinion?

 

[Aether★]

Play Pokemon?

 

[pkmin3033]

Children should be seen and not heard.

So, anything that isn't illegal or has content rated above their age - just as long as they're bloody quiet about it.

 

[starseed galaxy auticorn]

What you just said. Too many parents are relying on TV as a 'babysitter' while they do chores around the house. In fact, why not even have the child help with said chores? It'll help them later on in life if they get used to doing them at a young age. Most kids are pretty eager about helping at younger ages because they like to feel as though they are important and independent.

Where I live, there are always kids playing outside on our block. Kids under ten who play all day in the sun. The only time they don't is if they are either in school or it's raining that day. Kids really do need to get out more. The problem with our society is that we are lazy. Then, you wonder why so many kids get fat and don't want to do anything. They get used to this routine, and then parents wonder why their kids are like this. HELLO. Maybe because you didn't encourage them to play outside or do more productive things?

 

[Nihilego]

What you just said. Too many parents are relying on TV as a 'babysitter' while they do chores around the house. In fact, why not even have the child help with said chores? It'll help them later on in life if they get used to doing them at a young age. Most kids are pretty eager about helping at younger ages because they like to feel as though they are important and independent.

Where I live, there are always kids playing outside on our block. Kids under ten who play all day in the sun. The only time they don't is if they are either in school or it's raining that day. Kids really do need to get out more. The problem with our society is that we are lazy. Then, you wonder why so many kids get fat and don't want to do anything. They get used to this routine, and then parents wonder why their kids are like this. HELLO. Maybe because you didn't encourage them to play outside or do more productive things?

This right here. Kids should always be actively doing things. At a young age, when you're still so open to new things, it's a shame that so many kids are just... not doing anything. The more you can experience and learn and participate in as a kid, even if it is sometimes just "boring" things like learning about how to do chores, the more you take into adulthood. And in my experience, those who've had the most interesting (or hell, even just fun) childhoods raised in active, sociable environments are the people who I find most interesting in adulthood. This used to apply to almost everyone I meet but lately, I'm becoming more and more aware that it's... not so much the case any more and that worries me. If / when I have kids, I want them to grow up like I and my friends did (for the good parts anyway, haha).

...or maybe I'm just an old coot.

 

[Kanzler]

Be outside more, for sure. There's a lot of outdoorsiness in childhood that I now miss, having grown older.

 

[Bellsprout]

well let's see, when I was ten I was very imaginative. I played a lot of games with my little brother that we made up together. I liked to catch bugs in my yard. I played a lot of games by myself too just like imagining things. I played soccer for a sport, and I liked to play Pokemon.

i feel like exploring is really great for kids. I grew up with a giant yard so I explored all over and imagined so many things

 

[Lucid]

I don't think kids should be inhibited. Kids can be loud, obnoxious and overly curious, in your face, hyper active, but they shouldn't be expected to be seen and not heard, they're fucking kids. While yes, entertaining a child is difficult and parents do rely on an iPad as a "sit down and shut up" device, children thrive on interaction and soak it up. Learning apps and movie downloads can be great but they aren't a substitute, this generation has some amazing tools for the next and they need to use them appropriately, not lazily. Kids should be treated as growing individuals who need actual human stimulation to grow.

 

[Somewhere_]

Kids need to be around other kids playing. Kids learn social skills and develop many other useful skills by playing.

 

[Crystal Berry]

This is a bit of a confusing topic to me because I generally believe that kids should just be themselves (as long as what they're doing is not potentially other people or themselves in any way). Should kids be outside? Absolutely.. but everyone should be outside. Children should also try their best to obey their parents and do good in school.

 

[Sydian]

Enjoying their time where their imagination is wild, they have energy and are small enough to fit into McDonald's play places, and actually finish their video games. That's what I liked, anyway! I think it's important for kids to be active, but I also don't see anything wrong with indoor things like video games or tv shows, provided it's in moderation. I did a little of everything as a kid and I think kids typically enjoy a lot of things (playing outside, drawing, reading, video games, watching tv, etc) and have broad interests to where they have a good balance of it all. Plus, at those ages, they're still trying different activities to find out what's most fun for them. It seems like people drop some leisurely things as they get older and find what they enjoy most. For example, I like to play video games, collect things, and hula hoop. I no longer enjoy reading books, watching tv, or cheerleading. It also does depend on the parents too, of course.

 

[Aquacorde]

Children should be encouraged to explore as many aspects of the world as are available to them. What is generally known as "screen time" should certainly be limited and monitored due to their age and its capacity for addiction, but a certain amount of freedom is encouraged especially with the educational side of things. Parents/guardians should be introducing children to a huge variety of concepts and honestly there is very little that children are incapable of understanding with the correct guidance. Kids should be social, encouraged to develop relationships of all kinds and assisted with that but not as forced into it as many parents seem to do. They should play actively as much as possible, be outside as much as possible, be introduced to all sorts of activities and see what they like. If any undesirable behaviour is happening, it is the job of the parents/guardians to correct this by explaining why the behaviour is unacceptable.

tldr children should be active and curious and have their curiosity encouraged, no matter what the medium, rather than reprimanded or shut down

 

[Tolkin]

Not sitting on the computer, not playing Call of Duty or CS:GO.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

Play Pokemon?

This is all I did as a kid and I turned out just fine :D

 

[Aether★]

This is all I did as a kid and I turned out just fine :D

I was playing with Legos, reading Donald Duck comics, playing Mario on NES and watching Cartoon Network.

 

[Sirfetch’d]

I was playing with Legos, reading Donald Duck comics, playing Mario on NES and watching Cartoon Network.

Ah yes, CN. I too spent a good bit of my childhood glued to the TV watching that channel lol. Pretty sure I did that while simultaneously playing Pokemon :x

 

[Aether★]

Ah yes, CN. I too spent a good bit of my childhood glued to the TV watching that channel lol. Pretty sure I did that while simultaneously playing Pokemon :x

Thanks to Cartoon Network I learned English, it was aired only in English back then.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

Who am I to say what they should be doing? Saying that anyone "should" be doing something is oversimplifying things. I think it depends on the child's individual situation. I'm no expert, especially about children who I find to be a scary and annoying mystery. Access that individual child's needs, and then determine what they should be doing.

Besides, what they SHOULD be doing is leaving me alone.

 

[gimmepie]

I could probably give you a ten thousand word essay on what kids should be doing but I'll spare you the pain of reading it. The long and short of it is that kids should be enjoying active and healthy lifestyles whilst still having the freedom to explore hobbies and interests whilst developing skills essential for life down the track.

 

[Hikamaru]

My childhood was mainly toys and video gaming. Ah the good times...