Question of the Day (April 14, 2025)
“What’s a game you played outside growing up that kids don’t play anymore?”
This Question of the Day hits right in the nostalgia. Before “screen time” was something you monitored, we had dusk-to-dawn freedom. We played until our legs gave out and someone’s mom shouted dinner from the porch.
I used to love manhunt—that perfect blend of hide-and-seek and tag, only faster, sneakier, and played when the sun was just low enough to give the yard shadows to disappear into. It was part chase scene, part childhood espionage.
And backyard wiffleball? Forget a stadium—we had chalked-up bases, ghost runners, and house rules that changed based on who brought the bat. If the ball hit the big oak tree? Automatic double. If it went over the fence? You’re fetching it—and it’s a home run and an out. (Unfair? Maybe. But them’s the rules.)
These games weren’t just fun—they were little lessons in problem-solving, collaboration, negotiation, and resilience. They also gave us stories. The scraped knees, the controversial calls, the epic comebacks.
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Why This Question of the Day Matters
This Question of the Day isn’t just about old-school fun—it’s about what we’ve lost and what we could choose to bring back.
When kids don’t play these games anymore, it’s not just the games that disappear. It’s imagination. It’s unstructured time. It’s the learning that comes from conflict and cooperation. It’s the sweaty, laughing, grass-stained joy of a summer evening that smells like cut grass and possibility.
Maybe it’s time we reintroduce these games—not because we’re stuck in the past, but because they still have something to teach us now.
Want more reflection starters? Visit the Question of the Day archive
Or revisit this recent QOTD on noticing the unnoticed
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Your Turn
What game do you remember playing outside that you never see anymore?
Do your kids (or grandkids) know it even existed?
Drop it in the comments—let’s build a list worth sharing, remembering, and maybe even playing again.?
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