From Deseret News archives:
Great outdoors not so great with teens
Television, computers and video games were the top factors causing a decline in teenagers' interest in the outdoors, 89 percent of parents reported in a survey of summer youth activity done for the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council.
"I was disappointed in what I was reading, but I was not surprised," said Jayne Battey, executive director of the Bay area nonprofit.
The Stewardship Council distributed $2.25 million in grants statewide this year toward encouraging outdoor youth activity and is interested in gauging that activity, particularly among underserved populations.
It's a gauge that reflects broader concerns, such as health issues, academic performance and physical fitness, Battey said.
Parents of California children 13 to 17 years old were surveyed online during September, with 605 of 2,600 parents responding for the survey, including 7 percent from Sacramento County.
Although 70 percent of parents rated the access to outdoor activities as either good or excellent, nearly 60 percent said their children's interest in the outdoors is declining.
Almost 30 percent of the parents said their children never visited any kind of park this past summer, with only 3 percent going 10 times or more.
Only 3 percent of parents reported their teens went hiking more than 10 times during the summer, and 46 percent said they never went.
But it's hardly vacant outdoors.
For 17-year-old Bryan Caselli, the perfect summer day adds up with a skateboard and several of his friends, pushing each other to board perfection. He spends less than a couple of hours a week at MySpace.com and at only a few television shows he watches. "I would rather be outside on a skateboard," he said.
Bryan, who lives in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento, isn't even turned off by rain. He and friends relish a game of tackle football in the mud of Land Park, he said.
He is inspired by his father, a runner, and his mother, who works out regularly at home, he said.
"My dad is really busy with work, but he gets up while it's still dark and he goes running," Bryan said.
Bryan, his 13-year-old sister, who plays soccer and volleyball, and a 20-year-old brother at Fresno State University were all on swim teams, said Mike Caselli, father of the brood.
"None of our kids is anything more than middle of the pack," said Caselli, a banker.
Distributed by Scripps-McClatchy Western Service
