Aint no cure for the summertime blues.

Just saw a movie over the weekend called The Tree of Life. The movie was a metaphysical romp, depicting the universes creation from the big bang, through the dinosaurs to the present day. A good portion of the movie also focused on a family in the Midwest some time around 1955. (Brad Pitt was the father.)
The scenes centering on the family took place in the summer, much through the eyes of the three young boys of the family. One of the striking things was how much the boys played outside, from sun up to sun down without the hint of adult supervision or interference.
Sure the kids did some stupid things (or in the modern parlance, exhibited trouble with self-regulation and acted impulsively), like shooting a frog off on the back of a bottle rocket. But then, again, it was summer. They had to get into some trouble. What good would summer be without a little mischief? It was nice to see and contrasted powerfully with the ways in which kids spend most of their time these days. I’ve been trying to convince mine to cut down on the screen time by investing in some great outdoor toys for them, like trick scooters (I found some really helpful reviews on joinfuse) and water guns, which I’m going to surprise them with soon.
Maybe they can spend a few hours a day without adult steerage.
Maybe they can tromp around in a nearby swamp or pond. (OK, you can put little floaties on them if you are getting nervous.)
Maybe they can dig around in the dirt, roll around in the grass or catch a few frogs or fireflies in a jar. They can do this in their own back garden so it’s very easy for parents to organise, although they might need to visit https://www.lawncare.net/service-areas/pennsylvania/ for some lawn care tips afterwards!
Doing some of these “old school” summer activities might just cure a bit of the summertime blues.