That’s fair. I’m on his ass all the time about getting outside more, but never fully put my foot down. My kid is pretty insular and chooses to keep a small circle of friends. There’s a polish kid a few doors down he was tight with, but my son doesn’t really play with anymore. One thing I’ll give my kid credit for, he sticks up for himself. If he thinks you’re being a dick to him, he’ll ghost your ass.
I’m not trying to be a dick, it’s just that we really do have a limited amount of time where we can exert a lot of positive influence in our kids’ development. The things they do at this age sets the stage for the rest of their lives, whether it’s activities, inside vs outside, diet and exercise, etc.
The amount of screen time kids get these days will 100% be looked back on as a huge parenting culture mistake. I get that it’s easy in the moment to let the screen entertain the kids so we as parents can be on our own device rather than actually having meaningful interactions with our children.
Trust me I struggle with it too. After a long day of work do I want to catch up on the latest Bears QB arguments at The HQ2 or go outside and play with my kids? I know my time with them at this age is fleeting so I usually err on the side of the latter knowing I can do other stuff after they go to bed.
Zero percent chance I ever hear a parent in my lifetime look back and say, “wish I would have given my kids more screen time.” I don’t want to look back someday and wish I’d have done it all differently.
I have three girls. I bought an $8 wiffle ball set this summer and we play for HOURS in the yard before dark the same way my brother and I did in the early to mid 90s. Sometimes the neighbor kids wander over and play. Get some good music going, fire up the grill, have a cold beer, and make some memories they’ll treasure the rest of their lives.
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