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Childhood obesity is on the rise. It seems the focus in the media has been on the fatty diets and inactivity of children these days. But in urban-density focused Portland, how many options do average children really have to be active?

As a parent of a six-year-old girl in a neighborhood of tiny lots and childless neighbors, Portland is a tough place to help your child get out and play--especially without driving somewhere. There are no parks within a 10-minute walk of my SW Portland house. For nine months of the year, you can't count on having a halfway dry playground where you can take a kid to play unless you have the means to pay for classes, club membership or even community center admission. Who could do this on a daily basis? And because the world is a scarier place than when my friends and I ran wild as kids through our Parkrose neighborhood, I have to go along for the entire trip to the playground and arrange in advance if we're want to have a playmate available, too. With a home-based business, plus home, life and the rest that I'm responsibile for as an adult, the trip often has to be cut short. My daughter begs for us to move to a house with a big yard and a park or other kids nearby. Our yard is so small, she can't run in it. I know I'm not alone on this one. I'd like to see a discussion on how we foster communities and free play for our kids in a city/state with fewer and fewer families with kids and more fragmented communities. There are a myriad of issues here, including urban versus suburban perspectives, kids' socialization, pressure on parents to keep their kids active and healthy with no consistent resources to help them, PE disappearing in schools, uncovered playgrounds in a rainforest climate, a pervasive attitude among childless citizens that other people's kids aren't there problem, yada, yada, yada.
Dana

posted 5 years, 2 months ago
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