California father of three Mike Lanza has long been an advocate of free, outdoor play; his site, Playborhood, documents his efforts to promote this freedom in his own neighborhood and beyond. I've written about this once before, when he marketed a sign he hoped would prompt more play and more conversation about it.

Now Lanza has written and published a book. Playborhood: Turn Your Neighborhood into a Place for Play (compare prices) tells the story of his own "playborhood" as well as 7 others across the country. It also offers how-tos for fostering free play in your own family, from the radical ("move to a potential playborhood") to the deceptively simple ("encourage self-reliance").

In my neighborhood, kids are pretty good about playing together outside. The problem we have right now is an insect infestation--swarms of lake flies are no fun! Luckily, this is a temporary obstacle. What do you do to encourage your kids and their friends to play actively outside?

A friend who's a swim mom tweeted over the weekend: "If I only have one day to live, please take me to a swim meet because they last forever!" She spotted the line on a t-shirt at a meet. I'm wondering if she should encourage her swimmers to take up water polo: Its games last only 28 minutes. Of course, players are working extremely hard during those four 7-minute periods. They have to work with their teammates to pass and catch the ball and throw it in a goal (or defend the goal), all while treading water constantly.

If you have experience with water polo, as a player or a parent, tell us about it!

_{Photo: David Madison}

Have you ever done, or considered doing, a mud run? These short races (usually 1-3 miles) feature obstacles to climb over, under, and through, including mud pits to make sure you're good and dirty by the time you finish. Some races have an array of activities so that kids can participate too. While not every kid (or parent...) will relish the opportunity to crawl through a sloppy mud puddle, I'm guessing almost every child would love to watch Mom or Dad cross the finish line covered in dirt and grime.

Merrell and Subaru are sponsoring the Down and Dirty National Mud and Obstacle Series in 10 cities this year (warning, that link has an auto-play video with sound), with two different events for kids at each race. You can also search "mud run" or "obstacle" on Active.com to find events in your area.

_{Photo: Nathan Bilow}

I have an acquaintance whose child just suffered a severe concussion while playing soccer. Not only is it scary to think about your child's brain being injured, the recovery from concussion can be extreme too. The player needs physical and cognitive rest for at least a few days and sometimes several weeks, depending on the severity of the injury. Cognitive rest means no school, no homework, no reading books, no computer or texting or screens of any kind. The only thing the patient should do is lie down, maybe listening to some music without words.

As parents, we depend on coaches to help our kids stay safe on the playing field. That's why two stats from a recent survey jumped out at me:

• More than half of coaches surveyed believed there was an "acceptable amount" of head contact that kids could experience without sustaining a serious injury.  Coaches under 35 years old and paid coaches were even more likely to believe this. (It isn't true--even seemingly minor bumps on the head can cause a concussion, so players should be watched carefully for symptoms.) Read More...