On Topic: Not-so-lazy days

Remember when summer was a time for hanging around the neighborhood, playing ball with the gang, or just exploring down by the old fishing hole?

No, I don't, either. I think that was only in perpetual reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show.”

And if those days ever did exist, they waved goodbye a long time ago, says some new data from American Express and Ebiquity. It would seem we want our progeny busy, and we're willing to pay for it.

Numbers released after a mid-June 2013 sampling of 2,200 adults from the general population show some $55 billion being spent nationwide on summer activities.

That boils down to an average of $856 per youngster, according to the researchers.

Here's what they found:

• Day trips, such as theme parks and the like - $284
• Sports team payments - $228
• Swimming pool or other memberships - $157
• Arts or other education programs - $227
• Day camp - $314
• Sleep-away camp - $329, up from $219 the year before

The researchers also note weekly allowances have climbed dramatically, by 70 percent - from $19 in 2012 to $32 this year.

These tasks include such heavy lifting as cleaning their own rooms, walking their own dogs, taking out the trash (to which they have contributed) and maybe getting their hands wet doing some laundry (ditto).

Allowances? I can't speak to what's doled out by parents here in the Corridor. But as I recall my allowance was I'd be “allowed” to eat regularly and experience the joys of a roof over my head if I did my chores in a timely manner.

We could look at this parental spending from an economics perspective. Remember, my own humble distillation of economic principles comes down to these two simple questions: Does it achieve its objectives? How much does it cost to get there?

Is the objective to keep our children active? Well, mission definitely accomplished.

So much so that about 90 percent of the 800 children between the ages of 9 and 13 polled last year by KidsHealth.org claimed they were “stressed” because they were too busy.

The survey did not speculate if those children meant they hankered for unstructured frolicking alongside that non-existent fishing hole, or if they just wanted to be left alone for more face-to-screen time.

Answering our second economic question also is pretty straightforward: We can see, with unvarnished objective numbers, how much it costs to fill up our children's calendars with soccer, gymnastics, violin lessons and s'mores by the campfire.

So maybe another way to contemplate this cost-expenditure is as an altruistic investment in capitalism. By handing youngsters cash for everything from pet-tending to tidying their own bedrooms, we're teaching them that work equals payment.

And by scheduling their every waking, upright moment, we're preparing them for the unrelenting world of work.

And yet … and yet I wonder if Sheriff Andy might have a thought or two to share on the benefits of letting the mind wander for a spell on a summer's afternoon, down by the creek.