Maybe, just maybe, playing outside will make a comeback

this is an encouraging story...

[Khady] Lusby and her husband, who grew up in Hagerstown, ... let their three boys, now 11 and 6, go to the park alone (though at the creek they are to take along a sibling and walkie-talkies.)

Their neighbors, Mark Katzenberger and Mona Leigh, have a similar philosophy, allowing their two children to venture to the park on their own and walk to school unaccompanied by adults.

But the couples make up a small minority: parents who, despite prevailing trends, believe letting children play outside is ultimately less dangerous than what will happen if they never get to explore.

i have lamented for years the prevalence of the following scene in america...

[F]or a while now, to drive around America's suburbs is to see tidy but empty blocks, devoid of the kickball, hide-and-seek and aimless wanderings of earlier generations. For many parents, the thought of allowing their children out unaccompanied invokes spasms of horror and even accusations of child neglect.

when i was a child, i LIVED outside, summer, fall, winter, spring... i not only knew my neighborhood like the back of my hand, the radius of my explorations extended for several miles in all directions... treehouses, underground forts, snowball fights, sledding, picnics, scrambling up sandstone rock formations in a wild city park, bicycle and foot trails through open fields - all with my faithful collie, molly, at my heels... as i look back on it, i realize that being outside and free to roam the wide open spaces became an essential part of my mental landscape and a key part of who i am... i also realize that, given the dysfunctional environment at home at the time, it was also a large part of how i retained my sanity... outdoors is for kids... it's for all of us, really, but especially for kids...

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