In New York City and large parts of the northeast, children are beginning to return to playing outdoors in groups. Summer is here, and after a spring of staying indoors for schools and activities, both kids and parents are ready for something. But what. How do we decide what’s safe? How do we make these new decisions about what precautions to take, what to expect from a program, and what to do if kids/coaches get sick?

This new analysis and process are not easy. There are so many opinions and perspectives, on top of the continuously changing landscape of the public health emergency. Mindful Sports has collected city, state, and national recommendations from various government and camper/child safety organizations. We’ve put together a guidebook detailed our process for helping children and families return to play this summer. We did our best to try and create the structure for an environment that will begin to address the important issues that we are all trying to understand. Our intention is to provide a roadmap for us all to start to follow, working together to create new safe spaces for kids.

If it’s not time for your children to return to group play, we’re happy to offer lots of online programs and content. Or, we’re happy to suggest ways for you to create your own content for your kids at home. Thank you all for your fortitude and courage during this incredibly challenging time. Take a deep breath, and congratulate yourself for getting to this point. You should be proud. You’re setting an incredible example for your children on how to be creative, innovative, flawed, imperfect, and resilient.