Make Thanksgiving calories count - outside
While many people head out for an early jump on their Christmas shopping on Black Friday, everyone - especially if the weather is nice - has a special opportunity to take an energizing break in the outdoors at one of Delaware’s award-winning state parks.
The opportunity is special because the state is waiving its entrance fees on Black Friday to encourage more people to take their bodies outside. Free is good, even more so when it involves an experience that brings happiness and health.
Our state parks offer children’s playgrounds built by people for people and thousands of acres of playgrounds for all ages built for people by nature.
Delaware’s parks have been investing in a Child In Nature program designed to reverse the so-called nature deficit disorder. The disorder relates to the amount of time children of the 21st century spend in front of television, computer and telephone screens, and the resulting alarming rates of childhood obesity.
Studies show that children who spend at least an hour outdoors each day tend to be more active and alert, do better in school, and are more physically fit than those who don’t get outside. People of all ages tend to be more active when they’re outside. Being more active leads to better health.
A recent festival held at Delaware Seashore State Park’s Indian River Inlet campground, combining barbecue competition, a Sussex Outdoors summit, outdoor trick-or-treating and other outdoor activities, raised thousands of dollars to benefit the Division of Parks’ Child In Nature initiative. More importantly, the activities kept people outside and moving. More than 120 took the healthy opportunity a step further when they received flu shots delivered outside - by folks from Walgreens, an event sponsor. The drugstore company uses the slogan At the Corner of Happy and Healthy to brand its name, which was particularly appropriate for the festival’s outdoor venue.
Rather than just loosening your belt after your Thanksgiving meal, put those extra calories to use on Black Friday with a free visit to one of your state parks. And take some children along. All that fresh air will make them love you even more.
