Where did all the kids go?

It was hard to believe that I, Harry, could have such a beautiful soccer field all to myself on a perfect Sunday afternoon.

But there I was, walking across acres of manicured grass. The sky was overcast. The day was crisp and remarkably unwindy. Maybe about 60 degrees. As I said: Perfect.

Surveying the field in my isolation, I remarked to myself that, in addition to soccer, it would be a great place for a pick-up game of touch football. Or just someone with a baseball bat hitting some pop flies to a kid or two.

Of course, there was a baseball field nearby for that. But that too, I noted, was equally devoid of human activity.

I continued on with my walk. Adjacent to the soccer field was another grassy area. There were trees and small hills. A perfect place for a game of tag, I thought. Or an imaginary gunfight between cowboys and Indians (Native Americans?). Or basic tree climbing.

Alas, there was no one there as well.

I spent the rest of my walk wondering: Where are the kids? Do any of them play outside anymore when there are no organized activities?

I Googled it and, as with most everything, I discovered other people have been wondering the same thing.

I stumbled upon a survey by something called Planet Ark and read that while 65 percent of parents say they explored nature, now only 28 percent of kids do.

Some 64 percent of parents say they climbed trees, but only 19 percent of kids do these days.

Another 66 percent of parents say they skipped rope or played hopscotch while only 29 percent of kids do now.

I read a few blogs and learned that technology seems to shoulder the most blame for kids staying inside a lot. There's the Internet and Facebook and Twitter and cell phones with text messaging and all kinds of computer games. Not to mention a zillion channels on the big-screen, high-def TV.

Let's face it. Being inside is a lot more interesting these days.

How many of these kids would be in the house if all there was inside was one crummy channel on TV with a grainy black and white picture showing Kate Smith singing some crummy song?

That would get 'em outside. Of course, then I’d have to share my soccer field.