I’m not the first to say it – kids don’t play outside enough anymore. YouTube,TV shows on demand, and endless computer games are tough competitors against good old fresh air.
The playgrounds aren’t even the same as they used to be! The tall, metal slides and monkey bars have been replaced with small plastic slides, and short, safe climbing walls. Everything from the merry-go-round to the tire swing – all of those perennial favorites – have been deemed unsafe. As a mother of two boys, I can appreciate safety regulations, but I’m not the only one to question the change. A 2012 study even confirmed that the new safe playgrounds are actually boring to kids, and contribute to a lack of desire to play outside.
One Denver dad did something extra special to make sure his daughter wanted to play outdoors – he constructed her her very own Ninja Warrior obstacle course. How smart is that? In a world of constant TV, take a hit TV show and turn it into a great reason to get some exercise. This video just might be the best 2 minutes and 42 seconds of your day:
I never had an obstacle course quite that elaborate when I was a kid, but sometimes a more primitive Ninja Warrior course would manifest itself. I remember once, when my sister and I were running home after an afternoon or playing outdoors – we knew we had to beat the street lights! I decided that the best way to make this happen was to cut through a neighbor’s front yard. Little did I know that the neighbor had been doing some repairs, and had a trailer piled high with scrap metal and wood sitting right in the front yard. As the yard got darker and I zipped past the trailer, a piece of sheet metal sliced right across my face.
I got home just in time for a trip to the ER, and ended up with a nice scar on the right side of my face and a cut underneath my eye. According to the doctor, if I had been just a quarter-inch shorter, I would have damaged my eyeball. Luckily, I hadn’t yet reached my full height potential!
Now that I’m older, and my boys are growing up too, I don’t spend much time on the playground anymore. And I certainly couldn’t conquer the obstacle courses the amazing Ninja Warrior women tackle. But if there was an obstacle course race to get an extra 30% off at Coach? Well, let’s just say that I’d give Kacy Catanzaro a run for her money!
Happy Monday,
~Mary
