Comments about ‘Bored games — Some ideas for getting children to play outside’

A terrific article about the importance of play in a child's life. But let's not forget an adult's need to "play" and get away from the hassles and stresses of life for a while, too.

Parents can find 20-30 minutes in a day when they sit down at the kitchen table and play games with their kids. Those fun, fast-paced games do exist, and besides the bonding that occurs between a parent and a child, those same life skills, described in this news article, are learned in the safety of your home.

I was hoping for some good ideas, not an article about why kids should play outside. This headline was misleading.

It was not an accurate headline to put to the story. I too was looking for some ideas...

What is hard for us parents allowing our children outside to play is reading and knowing of stories of kids who are kidnapped, abused, or killed while outside with or without parental supervision.

I didn't have constant parental supervision while playing these games as a kid because we lived on an Air Force base where the streets were safe. Our streets are not safe anymore. For instance just read about the 7 year old girl that was just killed last night for playing on the sidewalk in front of her house.

I'm all for playing "free" games. I played games like: Sardines, Ghost in the Graveyard, Hide-n-Seek, Capture the Flag, Freeze Tag, TV Tag, and of course the different versions of these games that we would make up ourselves. But with the increase in crimes involving children, it's getting harder and harder for parents to allow this kind of play for the fear that we may never ever see our children again.

My kids tore apart the sofa to build a fort. If we just turn off the TV they will find something to do. I don't send my kids out in the front yard for fear of them being run over or possibly abducted. But, I send them out to play in the back yard all the time.

My kids would love to play with their friends, but unfortunately the neighbors to the right are getting divorced and the kids are now gone all the time - Don't know where. The kids across the street run like wild animals and practically live outside, but always without any supervision. They make me nervous. And the kids to the left only play video games and watch tv. I think I'll go out with the kids and try to tame the kids across the street and have fun at the same time. Doing something takes effort, which I think parents lack.

Deseret News published another article today that mentions outdoor games to play, which is what a few people who commented here wanted. I've tried twice to post the URL, thinking the moderator would let it through since it's a link to this same site, but no luck. So I can tell you instead to go search for it. Maybe. It's under Arts and Entertainment and is called "Favorite Outdoor Games."

Good luck.

The headline says it has ideas to get kids outside, but the article is about why kids should be outside, that is almost lying.

I liked the title of the article! I thought it was very appropriate for the article. Soo.. when the kids say they are bored, they need to go outside and BE CREATIVE. Wasn't that the point of the article? They need some time to figure out what to do and be creative. I thought it was a great reminder as a parent of the importance of encouraging creative play. Thank you!