Good old-fashioned family fun

We just took the kids for a walk to get lunch and I saw a dad and son in their front yard playing. The dad was throwing a large beach ball and the son was trying to hit it with a broom. Now that's what I'm talkin' bout! It seems like such a rare sight lately to see kids just playing in an unstructured way. Why do kids go to so many organized activities these days, with most kids putting in at least one, if not two, little classes every day of some sort? When my kids are grown, I want them to have memories of childhhod that involve hitting balls in the yard, or digging in the garden with me, or whatever. I don't want their every memory to be playing at a soccer camp or going to an art class. "I remember how on Tuesdays, Mom would pick us up from gymnastics, shove lunch down our throats, take us to karate, give us a snack, drive us to soccer, and give us dinner in front of the TV. Those were the days." Yuck -- no thanks. I'll take broomball memories any day over that!