SIMPLY CONTENT?

The boy is happy with a plastic fork. Apparently, it beats out all the other weather safe toys in the yard. It holds such a specific need that no shovel or stick could duplicate. I love children for their imagination and creative thoughtfulness.

But it's weird to me that my kids are so rarely content to be outside on their own. What happened to the days of endless hours of fresh-air freedom? I don't see my kids digging in the dirt or making stick houses or collecting rocks. They don't often find interest in putzing around the yard, bothering bugs or creating their own games. What am I doing wrong? As a child, my parents commanded us outside for hours. Every day it seemed. Are my kids too soft? A product of the Gen X parenting?

This afternoon, they've been told to play outside until lunch is ready. A good, sunny, thrity minutes - tops. Sis has exhaused the swing set, dog and sandbox in all of about 8 minutes and is begging to be let in. The very reason for being forced out on this particular day is their pent up energy that always, ALWAYS, manifests itself in screaming, whining and fighting. Should these kids be allowed inside at this point, there will be more boredom and fighting. What is the answer? Maybe more time outside. Rain or shine. Maybe this will force them into finding their inner outdoor contentment. Or maybe they'll hate it.

I certainly don't have the answer...but parenting really is just a big experiment in trial and error, isn't it? Stay tuned.