When I was a kid, being inside was not fun.

It meant I was being punished or I had to clean my room and do other chores.

A normal summer day meant getting up, wolfing down some breakfast and bolting for the door.

That’s where my friends were. I didn’t have the technology to text them but if I went outside I had no trouble finding them because they were outside waiting.

Summers were spent riding bikes, climbing trees, making forts, chasing frogs, hiking into the woods and wading in the creek to see what critters we could catch, making dandelion crowns.

After dinner I was back outside catching fireflies in an old Mason jar to keep overnight … watching them glow until my eyes grew heavy and I fell asleep. Release was theirs in the morning. So was mine. Release to experience the adventures that were ahead of me the next day.

The entire summer passed this way and even after school started I was outside playing until I was called in for the night to eat supper and start my homework.

I am so glad I grew up in an era where it was expected. Kids played outside; it was what we did. I didn’t have to be told to go out and play. I couldn’t wait to get outside.

Today it is a very different story. In fact, the statistics are alarming: in a typical week, only 6 percent of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own and kids 8 to 18 spend an overwhelming 53 hours a week using media.

To be fair, the technology of today wasn’t available in “the good old days” of my youth.

Just a generation ago, kids spent on average four hours outside playing. Fast forward to today and that average has dropped to 40 minutes. I don’t doubt the experts’ research but based solely on what I have witnessed at work I would guess it may even be less time. At the end of a field trip students are reminded they came to us on a school day and we have homework for them!

Our assignment is this: go outside and play. They are told they are already dirty from being outside all day at the center so why not go out and play. We are met with all sorts of excuses as to why that homework assignment cannot be done. Parents won’t let them go outside. Our answer to that is — take your parent with you!

Research has shown that kids that play outside do better in school and in life. It has also shown that parents who encourage playtime and play with their kids outside do better at work. The connection to nature is that important for overall mental, physical and spiritual health.

One study found that a simple walk in the forest significantly decreased levels of anxiety and lessened bad moods. Another study found that outdoor walks could be “useful clinically as a supplement to existing treatments” for major depressive disorders. What that means to me is this … “it’s in our nature.”

All I know is when I go outside … everything changes for the better!

Go on … get out there … I will catch you on the trails.