Let Kids Be Kids

I read a great article in the Sunday Parade (or whatever that weekly supplement was in the Portland Press Herald). The writer was relating that kids now have no summer to just do nothing. The scheduled camps, activities and "educational experiences" keep a kid running from dawn to dusk all summer long leaving no time to enjoy the creativity, imagination and fun of doing nothing. I agreed with the author, that we're not allowing kids to enjoy summertime without some kind of a purpose, be it learning or skill development. I think of my own childhood, biking with my friends with no objective (we used to alternate taking Right Turns and Left Turns at every intersection and try to "get lost"). We would play Cavalry and Indians (so politically incorrect now). We would cup jars over bees on clover and then knock it over with a stick and run (don't ask me who thought of that one). Sure, it's great to expand kids world's beyond their own house, but good grief, they have the rest of their lives (70 years+) to be scheduled and controlled by the responsibilities of life. My 11 year old and I went to a local nature preserve to participate in a bird-banding and data-gathering experience. That was our one big "educational" thing for July. He loved it. He was able to hold the birds when it was time to release them. I wonder if he would have been as excited if it was just another thing mom had him signed up for in the short span of days we call summer. I am thankful that I am able to allow my kids to have the experience to just do nothing all summer long. As I write, I hear the happy sounds of Lane talking with his buddy, as they run around the yard being knights, building creations from Legos and munching on popsicles. He may not learn anything about physics or become a talented athlete, but he will have great memories of his summers, just as I do of mine.