Once upon a time it was so easy to amuse children. They simply called each other’s houses or played in the woods or swam in the local stream in the summer, without a moment’s hesitation, knowing that they would be safe and free to play until dinner time, returning home at dusk. with scraped knees. and starving. There were few actual ‘purchased’ toys, so we kicked an old pumpkin into a ball, played fetch and ‘Pooh’ sticks in the creek, made toys out of small stones on the pavement and generally hung out with our friends. friends. as often and for as long as possible. Dangerous to even consider such a schedule these days.

Today it is not so easy, nor so free of worries. Certainly we still have the woods and the streams and the beautiful countryside for our children to play in, but we cannot release them to play in these places unsupervised, for fear that they will be kidnapped or abused. It’s a very sad world where children can’t express themselves in free play without the threat of serious harm, but for now we’re stuck with that.

so what is the alternative? It’s not possible to follow your child through every moment of playtime, so we’re all restricted to safer pastimes that don’t involve letting our kids run as wildly as we’d like, perhaps.

The local playground is always a good option. Today, organized mothers organize group groups and take turns accompanying several children to the playground or park. This is a great option because it leaves you free, aside from your own workday of course, to go shopping or do your own chores without being constantly interrupted by the kids.

Computer activities are a source of profound fun for children and also a great educational tool. Be careful, however, about allowing your children unrestricted access to the computer. Never allow a younger child to use the computer where they cannot see the screen, and check from time to time what your child has connected to. Take full advantage of the Nanny system and put all the appropriate restrictions on your machine to make sure that your child is protected from the ugly and creepy stuff that plagues the web today.

Organized summer groups are also a good option; Many of them are cheap as they are subsidized by the town halls or parishes. Take advantage of all locally supervised activities for your children, as they invariably encourage your child to develop within their own community.

The days of in-game freedom are long gone, sadly, but there are some great replacements if you look for them.