Our opinion: Get children outside

Published 10:57 am Tuesday, August 6, 2013

It’s 10 a.m. Do you know where your children are?

Are they sitting inside, on the couch, watching television, playing video games or messing with an electronic tablet?

It’s summer. The weather is gorgeous. Mower County offers plenty to do. They ought to be outside playing. That’s how they make summertime memories and learn to be sociable outside of a school setting.

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Take them for a bike ride. Bring them to the city pool. Explore the trails of the Shooting Star Trail or at the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center. Visit East Side Lake. Find a ball, and play catch. Draw on a sidewalk with chalk. Drag out that remote control toy gifted at Christmas. Swing in a hammock. Shoot some hoops. Go boating. Visit a nearby playground. Just play with the neighbor kids. Why not even go all out and take them camping, even if it is in the backyard?

Put down the iPad. Drop the video game controllers. Leave the cellphones behind. Get offline, and get outside.