For healthy kids, combine technology and outdoor play for balance

Many children are too distracted by tweeting to get outside and listen to a real tweet. Today’s children spend on average seven hours per day with electronic media, but only four to seven minutes outside for unstructured outdoor play.

“The importance of media in today’s world is indisputable, but a sky’s-the-limit approach to technology can have a powerful downside for kids if it’s not tempered with something more down to earth,”Lindsay Legendre, National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There Movement manager — an effort to get children outdoors more often.

Research shows that kids who spend more time outdoors are healthier, happier, and have better imaginations. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, children who spend too much time on technology are more likely get poor grades or fair grades. Research like this has led to some interesting conclusions. NWF’s Be Out There movement was created. “Outdoor Play for Every Day: A Parent’s Guide for Overcoming Common Obstacles to Kids and Outdoor Play,”It is filled with useful tips and activities to help parents defeat the temptation of technology and other barriers to getting children outside.

The following tips will allow you to make the most of your outdoor time, while still being in harmony with media and technology.

* Monkey See/Monkey Do. If you set an example of limiting technology time, your children will be more inclined to follow. Talk with your children and let them decide how much screen time they will use each week. This will help set ground rules.

* Pay to Play. Encourage your children to use their screen time for reading, chores, or outside play. Len Saunders, author “Keeping Kids Fit”The father of two suggested that children should be rewarded for 30 minutes of tech time for every hour they spend exercising.

* Let ‘Em Pick. Allow children to choose their screen time. They can watch TV, surf the internet or play video games. If they are able to play outdoors and the weather is good, they can trade their screen time.

* Go Geocaching. Your kids will love this outdoor adventure which combines GPS technology with a treasure hunt. Are you without a GPS? Many smart phone apps can do this. Find out more at www.Rangerricktrails.com.

The Be Out There Parent Guide can be a great resource for parents who want to encourage their children to play outside more often. You can find the Guide and other ideas to enjoy outdoor time at www.beoutthere.org.