re: How often should an elementary aged kid be outside playing with friends?

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Maybe playing outside was a ‘90s thing

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Nah, I was a kid in the 80s, early 90s and we had to listen to the same shite about how kids don't play outside anymore, even though we all still did. Kids still play outside just like we all use to. Both jobs I work require me in the public and kids are always up and down the streets, riding bikes, basketball, baseball, etc.

We're all in this together because Hillary lost.

3:50

There have been kids outside playing on my street every day since this thing started (and before). As long as they are out in the fresh air and staying a reasonable distance apart, it should be fine. The covid isn't common in kids, anyway.

I got bored once growing up. My Pops made me reshingle the roof.
I didn't get bored. Ever again.

For real, though, start teaching him things around the house. Small, insignificant stuff. Then, go out and play. He will probably hate the first part, but will appreciate it down the line.

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You make it seem like her normally plays with all the kids in the neighborhood in your OP but now you make it seem like he only plays with the neighbor girl...

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Sorry don't mean to be confusing. He plays with some boys in the neighborhood (pre-covid), but they aren't best friends or anything. Just gotten together and played tag or whatever games a few times. It's not like we're close enough to call them and say "frick coronavirus" and get together.

He plays with the girl across the street because we've gotten to know the family better. My wife and the mom have both been really restrictive with the covid shut down, so they've discussed how little we've been out of the house. More trust there to not be exposed to anyone with the virus.

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Why isn’t he?

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The kids he could play with have disappeared. There are two boys (aged 8 and 5) around the corner that used to play outside a good bit. We haven't seen them at all in two months. Not once. My wife follows their mom on Instagram and the mom has all kinds of posts about activities they've been doing indoors and how they've made custom masks and shite like that.

I shouldn't be too critical of them though as we've stayed in as much as we can since this all started. I guess now that life is opening back up, I'm realizing how detrimental this kind of isolation can be on a young kid who should be socializing and playing with friends way more than life has allowed.

I may have died of boredom had this happened when I was a kid.


We had probably 15 kids my age in my neighborhood when I was growing up, and we’d be out riding bikes, swimming, or playing football for 8+ hours a day during the summer.