I read a blurb that said kids still like to do things kids have done for decades. Like turn a spoon into a spaceship. Or turn a cardboard box into a castle. But now kids do funny things online because…well, because they can.

What I read said, “toddlers try to vlog with their parents’ phones. They narrate their snack time like mini influencers.” Where do they come up with those notions (rhetorical question because obviously adults nudge them)?

I also read that kids do other funny things like:

• those wild TikTok dance challenges with zero coordination and maximum enthusiasm
• invent games like “floor is lava”
• pretend the couch is a pirate ship and the dog’s the captain
• Ask Alexa or Siri stuff like “Why don’t dinosaurs wear socks?”

But, in that list, I noticed something missing. And it confirms what you can easily notice when you take a walk through just about any neighborhood in America. Kids don’t tend to do sunny things.

Yeah. They don’t play outside like kids used to.

But that’s no big deal. Right? Well, it’s no big deal if unhealthy kids is no big deal. And unhealthy kids is what you get when they do all, or at least most, of their funny things indoors. Because the only vitamin D you’ll find indoors will be in a bottle. And it doesn’t even remotely compare to the absolutely free vitamin D they can get playing outdoors.

I’m not gonna go through a whole list of why vitamin D is important. Just know that it’s a fat-soluble vitamin that acts as a mineral-controlling hormone in the body. And it helps maintain normal blood levels of calcium and phosphorus. Plus, a decent amount of it helps prevent nutritional rickets and osteomalacia (soft bones) in kids.

So, if you get a kick out of the funny things kids do, encourage them to do more of it outside in the sunshine. And you don’t have to make it a command. Just tell ’em to outside and start…

Being Silly

You could shine just like a diamond in sunlight.
You could be a star and light the whole dark midnight.
And you could be a daffodil or tiger lily,
But nothin’ quite compares to being silly.

You could make a frown and wrinkle up your whole face
You could walk into a room and freeze the whole place.
By why would you want to make someone so chilly,
When nothin’ quite compares to being silly?

You could be a superhero on a mission
Or a genie helpin’ people with their wishin’.
You could make a funny face at Uncle Willy.
Yeah, nothin’ quite compares to being silly.

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