Being outdoors

For the past few weeks, J has been sick on and off -- runny nose, sinus infection, now scratchy throat, maybe also teething. It got chilly outside, so my husband wanted to keep J inside -- didn't want him to get even more sick. But I was inspired by a post on A Cup of Jo on being outdoors.

A friend of hers, who grew up in Copenhagen, said "You just wrap your babies up in whatever you have.You stick them in the stroller and take them outside. In Denmark, you can't be afraid of the weather, otherwise you'd wait six months to go outside again." Heck, babies sleep in their carriages outside! I've seen it!

Also, "being indoors is both overstimulating and boring at the same time". Indoors is boring because "they replace the exciting sensations of nature (the feeling of the wind on their skin, the brilliant sun, the soft grass, etc.) with an immense stillness (flat walls, flat floors, no wind). [The indoors] bombards them with jolting experiences that kids in the past never had to deal with: crazy cartoons, slick videos, clanging computer games, noisy toys, and bright colors everywhere...which can make many little children feel stressed." I do find that J is calmer and his attention span lengthened outside.

We have our entire adult lives to be indoors 90% of the time -- college classes, in our dorms/apartments, working at a desk -- so why not let our children spend their childhood outdoors -- even if they're sick, just for a breath of fresh air?

I wonder what my husband's rule will be in the winter. Can J go out and play with snow? Gosh, I hope so!

What do you think about children being outdoors?