In this era of two-earner or single parent families, with many more opportunities for children, it is more difficult to just “hang out”. Many parents think back fondly on their own childhoods -- full of bike-riding, ball games with the neighboring kids, carefree summers spent outdoors -- and wish their own children's lives could be so stress free. They can be, if we are intentional about it.

Children today spend about four fewer hours per week engaged in "free play," while time spent participating in organized sports has nearly doubled.

Time to hang out at home brings opportunities for play with neighborhood children.  Kids need to generate their own activities, with minimal adult supervision. Sometimes they need time to sit and daydream or just be bored.  It is those unstructured times that foster a child's imagination.