Playing outdoors
12/10/20 03:29
Near the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic we started to see playgrounds in the park covered with yellow tape. Fear of the spread of the virus among children forced many cities to close public playgrounds. Like a lot of other public venues, playgrounds were seen as places where the virus might spread. I’m not sure exactly when, but the yellow tape began to disappear and we began to see the playgrounds being available for children once again. However, children have been slow to return to the climbing structures. There is one park through which we walk fairly frequently that has a nice playground area and lots of open space for running where we have begun to see small groups of two or three children, usually one family at a time, playing on the structures.
In general, outdoor activities have been seen to be safer than indoor activities. Despite the information we received early in the pandemic, surface transmission is “not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Stefan Baral, professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, “there have been more than 60,000 papers published related to covid-19, and playgrounds have not been identified as a significant source of transmission.”
Over the course of the pandemic, the public parks of our community have been important to our mental health. Our daily walks, often in city parks, help us maintain balance and stability. On days when we feel overwhelmed by the tasks at hand and the stresses of life, we find that simply going outside and taking a walk makes a big difference in the quality of our lives.
Going outside, however, is not the way some people and some families are dealing with the pandemic. Staying at home is one way to isolate from others and from some of the dangers of infection. People can control their own homes. They have control over who visits. They can clean to their own standards. People are going out a lot less than they did before the pandemic. And that stay at home attitude is affecting children as well. Studies have shown that children are spending more time in front of televisions and computers and less time simply going outside to play.
I can still hear my mother saying to us when we were growing up, “Why don’t you go outside and play.” We were sent outside whenever the noise level in our house got too high, which with four boys, was fairly frequently. We were sent outside when our mother was preparing to host the women’s fellowship and the house needed to remain especially clean. We were sent outside when our mother had work to do and just needed a little space. Looking back, I realize how important sending the kids outside to play was to our mother’s mental health.
There are a lot of thing that have changed since I was a kid, but running, jumping, and climbing are still important parts of being a child.
I remember another thing from being a child that is important in this new world of living with a pandemic. As soon as we got into the house we were sent to wash our hands. It was assumed, and rightly so, that our hands would be dirty when we came in from outside. We would dig in the dirt, play in the sandbox, and otherwise get plenty of visible dirt on our hands. Of course the virus that causes covid-19 is too small to be seen. We all need to practice frequent hand cleaning regardless of whether or not our hands look dirty. Teaching children to wash their hands properly and to wash them frequently is one thing about the pandemic that should be continued even after the immediate danger has eased. Hand sanitizer seems to be an important part of every outing for our grandchildren. When there is access to a sink, soap and water is still the best way to clean hands.
We haven’t noticed face masks on the children in the city parks, but teaching children about the use of face masks is also important. Our grandchildren have their own face masks and they are encouraged to wear them whenever they are around groups of other people.
For all of us, learning to avoid crowds is important. That is one thing we have noticed about the parks in our town. They aren’t crowded. Even at busy times when there are a lot of people waling their dogs and getting exercise on the paths through the parks, it is easy for us to keep our distance from others. We watch the children on the playground from a safe distance. We pull up our face masks when passing others on the paths, but pull them down for most of our walks. Children can be taught to keep their distance as well. You don’t have to be right next to others to enjoy playing.
There are lots of other outdoor activities. As wonderful as play structures are for children, there are plenty of other ways to play. We’ve noticed children exploring the hiking trails, throwing rocks in the creek, and simply running in the open spaces. We’ve been delighted with some of the wonderful chalk art that has been drawn on the sidewalks. One place where we walk several times a week has a big “finish line” marked in chalk near where we park our car. As we get back to the car after a couple of miles of walking we often comment on having reached the finish line. These are contributions of healthy children to our community.
Creator God, grant children the space and time to play outdoors. Remind all of us of the importance of public parks for the health of our communities. Grant us vision and dedication to make these places space for children. You know how we want to keep our children safe. Bless all who work to make places for children to play. Amen.
In general, outdoor activities have been seen to be safer than indoor activities. Despite the information we received early in the pandemic, surface transmission is “not thought to be the main way the virus spreads,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to Stefan Baral, professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, “there have been more than 60,000 papers published related to covid-19, and playgrounds have not been identified as a significant source of transmission.”
Over the course of the pandemic, the public parks of our community have been important to our mental health. Our daily walks, often in city parks, help us maintain balance and stability. On days when we feel overwhelmed by the tasks at hand and the stresses of life, we find that simply going outside and taking a walk makes a big difference in the quality of our lives.
Going outside, however, is not the way some people and some families are dealing with the pandemic. Staying at home is one way to isolate from others and from some of the dangers of infection. People can control their own homes. They have control over who visits. They can clean to their own standards. People are going out a lot less than they did before the pandemic. And that stay at home attitude is affecting children as well. Studies have shown that children are spending more time in front of televisions and computers and less time simply going outside to play.
I can still hear my mother saying to us when we were growing up, “Why don’t you go outside and play.” We were sent outside whenever the noise level in our house got too high, which with four boys, was fairly frequently. We were sent outside when our mother was preparing to host the women’s fellowship and the house needed to remain especially clean. We were sent outside when our mother had work to do and just needed a little space. Looking back, I realize how important sending the kids outside to play was to our mother’s mental health.
There are a lot of thing that have changed since I was a kid, but running, jumping, and climbing are still important parts of being a child.
I remember another thing from being a child that is important in this new world of living with a pandemic. As soon as we got into the house we were sent to wash our hands. It was assumed, and rightly so, that our hands would be dirty when we came in from outside. We would dig in the dirt, play in the sandbox, and otherwise get plenty of visible dirt on our hands. Of course the virus that causes covid-19 is too small to be seen. We all need to practice frequent hand cleaning regardless of whether or not our hands look dirty. Teaching children to wash their hands properly and to wash them frequently is one thing about the pandemic that should be continued even after the immediate danger has eased. Hand sanitizer seems to be an important part of every outing for our grandchildren. When there is access to a sink, soap and water is still the best way to clean hands.
We haven’t noticed face masks on the children in the city parks, but teaching children about the use of face masks is also important. Our grandchildren have their own face masks and they are encouraged to wear them whenever they are around groups of other people.
For all of us, learning to avoid crowds is important. That is one thing we have noticed about the parks in our town. They aren’t crowded. Even at busy times when there are a lot of people waling their dogs and getting exercise on the paths through the parks, it is easy for us to keep our distance from others. We watch the children on the playground from a safe distance. We pull up our face masks when passing others on the paths, but pull them down for most of our walks. Children can be taught to keep their distance as well. You don’t have to be right next to others to enjoy playing.
There are lots of other outdoor activities. As wonderful as play structures are for children, there are plenty of other ways to play. We’ve noticed children exploring the hiking trails, throwing rocks in the creek, and simply running in the open spaces. We’ve been delighted with some of the wonderful chalk art that has been drawn on the sidewalks. One place where we walk several times a week has a big “finish line” marked in chalk near where we park our car. As we get back to the car after a couple of miles of walking we often comment on having reached the finish line. These are contributions of healthy children to our community.
Creator God, grant children the space and time to play outdoors. Remind all of us of the importance of public parks for the health of our communities. Grant us vision and dedication to make these places space for children. You know how we want to keep our children safe. Bless all who work to make places for children to play. Amen.
