Fun Freetime: Kaboom!

I've posted about KaBOOM! before, but I wanted to share a little information I received about their play days.

KaBOOM! , a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to all things play, is teaming up with local communities to host more than 1,000 free Play Days across the country this September 19-27. These no-cost events celebrate kids and play with fun, safe games and activities.

A recent study found that youth aged 8 - 18 spend over six hours a day using electronic media, a whopping 45 hours per week. "It's no secret that play is key to healthy child development," says Darell Hammond, CEO of KaBOOM!, a non-profit that encourages playtime and helps to build playgrounds. "Studies shows that active kids are healthier, perform better in school, and learn better social skills than kids who are less inclined to play."

KaBOOM! Play Days are outdoor events that celebrate play with games and activities and are guaranteed to bring happiness and laughter to your family, not to mention the wellness benefits of play: KaBOOM! and many other other child-advocacy and health organizations including the American Heart Association advocate that kids play for at least an hour every day. KaBOOM! believes that unstructured play in particular helps make children happier, fitter, smarter, more socially adept and creative. Further, KaBOOM! Play Days are an opportunity for communities to come together to improve their local parks and playspaces with clean-ups, simple enhancement and construction projects.

Interested in taking part? There are a couple of ways you can participate:

1.) -- Sign up to host a Play Day in your community. If you log on before August 24th, you'll be eligible to receive a free Play Day kit, jam-packed with fun-filled games and gear.

2.) --Register for a Play Day already happening in your area.

Just hop on to www.kaboom.org/playday to learn more. It's fast, simple and fun. Happy Play Days!