MARCH 2011
ON THE WEB www.DanvilleExpress.com www.SanRamonExpress.com PUBLISHED BY Embarcadero Media PUBLISHER Gina Channell-Allen VIEWS EDITORS Dolores Fox Ciardelli Jessica Lipsky EAST BAY EDITOR Jeb Bing EDITORIAL STAFF Amory Gutierrez Glenn Wohltmann VIEWS DESIGNER Lili Cao
VIEWS JANUARY 2011
Free-range kids
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Kids on sports fields, kids in gyms, kids in swimming pools. There truly is a team for everyone — to get exercise, make friends, and learn teamwork as well as athletic skills. We are also lucky to live in a place safe enough for our children to enjoy that old pastime: just going outside to play. Baseball in the streets, basketball in driveways, and games of tag and hide-and-go-seek can be spotted on our suburban streets on any afternoon. These kids also are learning skills, such as how to entertain themselves and how to cooperate with others. If they play cops and robbers, or army, they are also using their imaginations. Researchers now say kids left to play on their own develop the ability to self-regulate, a good indicator of success in school. In the old days, the kids were all “free range.” With their parents’ encouragement they left their homes in the morning and, except to eat, returned when the streetlights began to come on. In this issue, we highlight youth sports, which we heartily endorse and enjoy. But remember not to schedule our young too tightly — long live free-range kids. —Our Views are just that as we explore subjects that pique our interest. What are your views? Let us know at: views@DanvilleExpress.com views@SanRamonExpress.com
OUR VIEWS
DESIGNERS Trina Cannon Kristin Herman ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Carol Cano Paul Crawford Karen Klein Stacey Patterson REAL ESTATE SALES Andrea Heggelund AD SERVICES Trina Cannon Cammie Clark BUSINESS ASSOCIATE Lisa Oefelein FRONT OFFICE COORDINATOR Kathy Martin CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Bob Lampkin 5506 SUNOL BLVD., SUITE 100 PLEASANTON, CA 94566 (925) 600-0840 (925) 600-9559 FAX VIEWS @ DANVILLEEXPRESS . COM VIEWS @ SANRAMONEXPRESS . COM © 2011 by Embarcadero Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction without permission is strictly prohibited.