Kids need to be outside more during the summer

Old man rant forthcoming. You have been warned.

My frustration mounted as I drove through three local communities this past week and weekend. There was hardly a kid in sight enjoying the outdoors.

Baseball and softball? No chance.

Basketball? Uh, no sir.

Skateboarding? Nuh uh.

Swimming at the public pool? Fuhget about it.

In fact, public pools are closed more than they are open during the summer. That's a real head scratcher to me. I know they are costly to maintain, but jeez, what's the point in having a pool if they aren't open all the time during the summer? May as well just shut them down.

But then again, maybe there aren't enough kids interested in going outside to get to the pool.

Yeah, I know it's hot outside with temperatures sometimes peaking in the upper 90s. And yes, I know that heat stroke is a real thing, but was it not hot outside when we were kids? Did we not consider it punishment if we had to stay inside the house during the summer?

I know I did.

Sure, we would come back inside from time to time to cool off, but then we would go right back outside again. There were ballgames to be played or places to go on our bikes, friends to visit, after all.

I know for a fact that we were looking forward to summer vacation when we were in elementary, junior high and high school, so that we could do things outside, not stay indoors and watch television.

Of course, the electronics age has changed things dramatically, but not necessarily for the better. Kids have computers, video games and cellphones at their fingertips these days. Electronics have played a significant role in keeping our kids and grandkids indoors. Because of that, today's kids have a much harder time tolerating the heat.

And that's why city ball leagues move up their schedules in the spring and finish up the games by pretty much the end of June. Only travel teams continue to play ball into July.

I guess the point I'm trying to make with all this chatter is that if we aren't pushing our kids outside more, perhaps we should be.

Kids need to increase their social networking in a physical one-on-one way, not through cellphones. It's amazing what they might learn about one another if they are actually talking face-to-face instead of texting. Doing stuff together is what makes memories special. Not making memories through cyberspace.

It's not too late. There is still half a summer left.