Children must play outdoors

SCHOOL holidays are almost here and, hopefully, long, sunny days lie ahead.

Those of us who grew up some decades ago remember that most of our play was in the outdoors. It was an era of relative innocence and people were blissfully unaware of many dangers of which everyone is now conscious.

With television, the internet and changes in so many other aspects of life, today’s children spend much less time outdoors. We had the freedom of the fields to roam and observe nature at close quarters, be it birds nesting, foxes prowling or cows simply grazing. It offered a far better picture of natural life than could ever gleaned from a screen or a book.