Just Take A Kid Outside

Just Take a Kid Outside

JUST TAKE

A KID

OUTSIDE

By: Benjamin Chewning

48 BETTER OFF WET | AUGUST 2022

Since I was a child, I remember seeing advertisements that said: “Take a Kid Fishing” or “Take a Kid Fishing Day”, or what have you. I have thought about those advertisements for the better part of 3 decades, as I have seen them in many locations around the Country. While that may seem strange to some, I have always had an affinity for advertisements in general and I have always thought this ad to be a good one for many reasons. First, I always saw the ad being geared towards a person who had the ability to take a kid fishing. And, second, I always saw the kid not having any family that was into fishing or willing to take their kids. So, pairing the willing fisherman and the kid together, just makes sense to me. Fishing is a great hobby that teaches many things, like patience. I myself had that person who took me fishing as a child, one of my Great Aunts, Eliza

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Kid Fishing

Parr who was an avid outdoorswoman. But, fast forward to 2022 with a generation of children, who are growing up in a far different world than I did, I now see the real importance of that ad and its message. The kids I see around me today look much different than the kids I saw in the eighties and nineties. I don’t see as many children playing in neighborhoods as I used to and I see a lot of the kids out today, glued to an electronic device, sometimes even while being a part of an outdoor activity. So, in my opinion, if the “Take a Kid Fishing” advertisement was felt to be needed when I was a child, it is certainly needed now more than ever. But, given some recent experiences with my own family and friend’s children, I want to expand the taking kids fishing idea, to just taking them outside. My wife and I do not currently have any children. But, between our family, friends, and our church family, we see a lot of them. I love kids and really love seeing active kids. My wife says I am

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Just Take a Kid Outside

a big kid and I will not disagree with her on that topic. In fact, my actions often prove her correct. I have a strong sense of adventure that has been inside me as far back as I can remember. I was fortunate enough to spend much of my time growing up, on a few farms, totaling several hundred acres. And, I have always credited fishing the ponds on the farms, exploring the woods, and searching for treasure (old farm junk) with my desire for adventure and travel. My Great Aunt, I mentioned above has a son, Bill who was and is also very adventurous. He grew up on these same farms and he and I spent a lot of time together. I remember him showing pictures from his dives on the Great Barrier Reef and how he would always have slideshows

of all the places he would travel. I know there are many children, in fact, without any internet fact-checking; I would even bet the majority of children won’t get to know what it’s like to grow up on a farm, or even with an outdoor lifestyle of any sort. Plus, with the advent of technology, in 2022, even if they are outside, what is that technology doing to draw them away and keep them glued to their screens. Shoot, our own Government told us it was better to be inside for almost 2 years. I don’t have any children but I do know what it is like to be a child and I definitely know that spending a lot of time outside, played a big role in my life and it would be hard to convince me, that being outside wouldn’t be helpful to almost all kids.

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I spent the better part of 2019 and 2020 volunteering at a great organization, called Project Lift, in Palm City Florida. They do great work there to help teach kids (14-18 years old) hands on trades, such as mechanics, carpentry, and HVAC. I taught basic welding to boys and girls and saw many of them, come through my class, while there. I like to use sports references when teaching the kids proper stance, hand placement, etc, when learning to weld. It always blew my mind how many of the kids weren’t into sports or outside activities, at all, which made it difficult when teaching a physical trade, to relate it to something like baseball, which I assumed everyone in America had played at some point in his or her life. My time at Project Lift gave me an entirely different view of where our young people are headed, and it isn’t outside. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, I have had several outings with kids recently that have brought these conversations up. The outings with family and friends are great and seeing the kids outside, fishing, swimming, and playing always brings a smile to my face. What brings even a bigger smile is seeing kids start off grumpy, whining for electronics, complaining, or wanting to go home or to go back inside…and, then have something happen, that makes them forget about all that completely. Seeing the kids light up when they hook a fish, spot a Manatee, learn to tie a knot, dig up shark’s teeth, explore and island, or steer the boat is what is cool to me. And, without fail, those things will cause a kid to drop that Ipad faster than anything else. I know that being outside, whether on the water or not, has to be healthy for most kids, and will help them to build confidence in themselves. I see many unconfident adults living in the safest society of all time who literally get scared to near death from the idea of heading into the unknown, outside. So, while the fishing would be an added bonus, in my opinion, just getting the kids outside is a great starting point!

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