Today’s digital draws cause many children to spend time alone. Most press buttons and tap screens more than they interact with other kids. Sure, online games and social networks enable virtual interactions. But that’s not the same as playing outside and making childhood memories. Some adults say the semi-secluded lifestyles are contributing to poor social skills and childhood obesity. Others in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Orange County, New York simply recall being more active, healthier, and happier kids. Both groups have valid points. And while completely unplugging today’s kids may not be possible, luring them outside is with the help of Swingset & Toy Warehouse in Flemington, New Jersey and Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Be it a play set, basketball system, or home trampoline, the play experts have what it takes to draw kids outdoors.

Round up a group of grownups over age 35 and the tales of childhood adventures can go on for hours. Mix in more maturity with a few folks over 50, and the sheer number of games they made up as kids will require you to reset the clock! That’s because for every previous generation, playing outside was a part of growing up. Playing ball, building clubhouses, and simply exploring kept kids moving, laughing, and making childhood memories.

Fast forward to today, and playing outside seems like ancient history. Review research on the habits of today’s kids, and the absence of outdoor time is glaringly obvious. Take for instance a 2010 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Researchers determined that young people between the ages of eight and 18 spend more than seven hours a day connected to something. And since their use of televisions, smart phones, computers, and other devices tends to occur simultaneously, the report calculated that kids actually cram 11 hours of media content into their already excessive digital time.

With so much time spent texting, tweeting, downloading, and streaming, it’s natural to wonder what types of childhood memories will today’s children have as adults. Will Twitter wars and Facebook bullying be all they can recall? And will they grow up to be tense or disgruntled and make parents wish they had worked harder to help them be happier kids?

If you’re a parent near Bucks County or Orange County that’s not comfortable with these thoughts, the team at Swingset & Toy Warehouse can relate and help. Their Flemington and Upper Saddle River locations are filled with play sets and other outdoor fun stimulants that can help you pull your kids away from the screens. With swings, slides, monkey bars, climbing walls, forts, and several other accessories available for your play set, you’re sure to find something your little ones deem irresistible! And as Swingset & Toy Warehouse is a prime home trampoline source with basketball systems in store, you can get items that will have your tweens and teens playing outside too!

To start shopping for the right items for your kids, visit www.swingsetwarehouse.com. If you’d rather have one of your child’s childhood memories be the day the whole family went shopping for a play set, visit the Swingset & Toy Warehouse nearest your home in Bucks County, Pennsylvania or Orange County, New York. As soon as it’s selected, delivered for free, and put in place, your kids are sure to start playing outside! And you know from experience that running and laughing on a regular basis makes for happier kids.

Swingset & Toy Warehouse
11 Route 31 South
Flemington, New Jersey
800.794.6473

118 Route 17 North
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
800.794.6473
www.swingsetwarehouse.com