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Study Finds Children Would Rather Play Outside Than Online; Hero Soldiers Honored at Fort Stewart, Georgia; on Rendering Aid to Victims as Shots Rang Out; Military Bravery and Sacrifice Honored on Purple Heart Day; Big3 Basketball League Leans Into Sydney Sweeney Ad Controversy. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired August 07, 2025 - 13:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[13:32:24]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": -- parents worry about something else, which is that their kids spend too much time online, but they're finding it difficult to peel them away from the screen. So why not ask kids, right? The real experts here. What would get them off their devices? And that's exactly what the Harris Poll and The Atlantic did. They surveyed kids ages 8 to 12 who said what they'd actually rather do is play with their friends in person.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Yay.

KEILAR: Sounds great. Right?

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

KEILAR: 45 percent said they would rather hang out with their pals. This is what the experts call in-person unstructured play.

(LAUGH)

WHITFIELD: Only a quarter of kids said that they would rather play with their friends online. One barrier, many parents insist on supervising their kids outside. More than a quarter of the kids aren't even allowed to play in their own front yards without someone being there.

Lenore Skenazy is joining us live right now. She's the author of "Free-Range Kids" and the president of the non-profit "Let Grow." Great to see you, Lenore. All right, so take us behind the data. What are kids saying about why they prefer in-person play rather than online play? I think that's pretty good news that they would want to interact with people, but tell us what they're saying --

LENORE SKENAZY, PRESIDENT, LET GROW: Fantastic.

WHITFIELD: How are they justifying that?

SKENAZY: Yeah.

(LAUGH)

SKENAZY: You know, we didn't ask why. We asked what, what would you rather do? And as your graph showed, they really are longing for something that almost was extinct before they became alive, which is a sort of 1980s Stranger Things childhood where they get up in the morning and they go play with their friends. And the amazing thing about it is, they long for it even though they barely get it.

I mean, when -- in the Harris Poll that, it was Let Grow and the Anxious Generation did with Harris, we asked kids, what can you do on your own? And the results to me were pretty shocking. The majority of the kids said that they're not even allowed to go anywhere in public without an adult, not the mall, not a store, not the street. And then when we asked them, can you play in your front lawn? Only 25 percent of them said no. These are kids eight to 12 years old, said no, we're not allowed to play on our front lawn.

And the reason turns out to be, as we found out from another Harris Poll, that parents really have this very doom-and-gloom idea of what happens if their kids ever go outside. 50 percent of the parents of these children said that they thought if two 10-year-olds were playing in a park, they would be likely to be kidnapped even though kidnapping really is literally as rare as getting hit by lightning. So because parents are so afraid of sending their kids outside, the kids are stuck inside. There's nothing to do.

They're not allowed to just play and run around the neighborhood. What do they do? They go to the escape hatch, which is their phones. They don't want to be on their phones. They're on their phones by default.

KEILAR: It's such an interesting look. I also think it's kind of encouraging. But to your point about the front lawn thing --

SKENAZY: Yeah.

KEILAR: Yesterday, I asked my followers over Instagram, would you let your children play in the front yard unsupervised? And nearly two- thirds said no. So there you go. But I wonder, according to some of the people who reached out to me on the side, they said, I would like to let my kids play in the front yard, actually. But we're on a very busy street. I'm worried they'll get hit by a car. Or I live in a place where there's gun violence. It's a real thing. I'm worried about it. So aside from the front yard because some people are just saying, yeah, they're saying that's not an option for them. What else can people in that situation do to satisfy their kids' free-range desires?

SKENAZY: Oh, thank you for that question. So, Jonathan Haidt, who wrote "The Anxious Generation," and I, teamed up with a couple of people a couple years ago to start the "Let Grow," which you mentioned and we have two free programs for schools. And one specifically addresses the problem of what if you don't feel like your kid is safe enough if they go outside to play. Keep the schools open after school for all the ages together to just play as if it is the olden days. I mean, there's an adult there, but they're not organizing the games. They're not solving problems. They're just like a lifeguard. And then you throw some, there's balls, there's jump ropes, there's chalk. And the kids make their own fun as if they were in the neighborhood because it's all different ages together, which actually is really great developmentally, and there's already a critical mass of kids because they're already at school. You're not sending them home and most kids will end up either in an organized activity or in their bedroom scrolling. And so, just start, we call it, a Let Grow Play Club. It's pretty easy to figure out, but if you need instructions, there's -- they're at letgrow.org. And it's just, we've seen amazing things at schools that do this.

Kids find new friends if they don't necessarily have all their friends in the same grade, right? A kid who's maybe a little lonely in third grade, but be friends to a fifth grader, or gives piggyback rides to the kindergartner. So you're creating the old-fashioned neighborhood just in the school yard after school. That seems like an easy thing to do.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. And it's really not a hugely invent --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Oh, sorry. It's not a really inventive idea because --

SKENAZY: It's not inventive.

WHITFIELD: -- that's actually happened before.

(LAUGH)

SKENAZY: No, it's not.

[13:35:00]

WHITFIELD: But, finances, resources have now stood in the way as to why a lot of schools now do not keep the schools open for kids to have that kind of free play.

SKENAZY: Well, parents are doing something with their kids after school. And if they're sending them to any other kind of activity, that costs a little bit of money. You could charge a little bit of money or you could rely on volunteers. You could hire high school students to watch over the younger kids and that gives them a job. And it's also cool for the little kids to be around the high school students. So I don't think it's money. Sometimes it's space. And in which case, we suggest put traffic cones on either end of the block, in front of or behind the school and then you have a whole Play Street.

So, kids are going somewhere after school and it's generally someplace supervised. Why not send them to a play club? Because not only are they longing for play, I mean, that's what we heard. These children desperately want to play with their friends. Actually, when asked, what's keeping you from -- what's bringing you to your phones? 75 percent of the kids said, I would be on my phones less, I'd be on my devices less if I could play in the neighborhood more. So, this is like a public health measure. It's giving kids a wildlife sanctuary, where they can still be in a non-phone zone, playing with friends the old-fashioned way with loose parts.

And the more junk you have out there, weirdly enough, the better it is. And let me just tell you one thing that a playground expert told me, is that when you have all these loose parts, balls and then maybe an old typewriter, a suitcase, or some fabric, you should also have some old-fashioned big fat sandbags filled with sand. Do you know why?

KEILAR: No.

(LAUGH)

WHITFIELD: Little weightlifting? I mean, I don't -- is it weightlifting? I don't know why.

SKENAZY: That's -- that's sort of it. It's, yeah, that it's sort of the -- it is because they're so heavy. They're so heavy that one kid alone can't drag them. And so, if you want to build a fort, if you want to build anything with those, suddenly you're just getting this cooperation. We're so worried that kids are losing their skills of face-to-face communication and cooperation. That's what happens automatically in play. And we've taken that out of kids' lives. We see them longing for it. Here's an easy way to give it back.

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

SKENAZY: It's really -- it's called a Let Grow Play Club, but you could call it anything you want. And it's -- it's as simple as getting somebody in the corner with a whistle who's actually scrolling through her own Instagram feed because she's not getting involved in the kids' games because she's there for emergencies.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. Lots of great ideas. Lenore Skenazy, thank you so much. Let them play. That's the bottom line.

KEILAR: Love it, so much.

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up. Courage under fire. The U.S. military honors the brave soldiers who helped after the shooting attack on a Georgia Army Post. Now, two of those brave service members are speaking to CNN about their acts of heroism. Stay with us.

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[13:41:54]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're hearing from some of the U.S. soldiers who sprang into action during the shooting at Fort Stewart in southeast Georgia. Two of the five soldiers who were shot remain hospitalized. The other three were released and returned to the base. Today, the Army Secretary General awarded medals today to soldiers who jumped in to help subdue the suspect and aided the wounded. Two of those being honored, Staff Sergeant Melissa Taylor and First Sergeant Joshua Arnold spoke to CNN about their heroic actions to save lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SERGEANT MELISSA TAYLOR, U.S. ARMY: I saw a cloud of smoke and he started yelling about there being smoke. And I saw the soldier laying on the ground in the hallway and I asked if he was injured. And he -- First Sergeant Arnold said he had been shot. So, I immediately sprinted over to the soldier and got down on my knees and started rendering aid to the soldier.

FIRST SERGEANT JOSHUA ARNOLD, U.S. ARMY: The soldier on the ground said someone else had been shot, someone else had been shot. And I got up and went to that person's office and found that person and immediately started providing aid to that person as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. CNN's Ryan Young has more detail from Fort Stewart.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We got extraordinary access to Fort Stewart today. I can tell you for a long time, we have not had this sort of access to this space, especially after a shooting. Today, the Secretary of the Army, the General, wanted to make sure those who leapt into service yesterday were able to have some sort of recognition for everything they did. We learned that seconds after the shots were fired, more soldiers started to leap into action to try to stop the shooter, to try to help their fellow comrades who were on the ground, who were in pain with blood loss.

And so we learned about that. And if you listen to the Secretary of the Army, he spoke with pride about what happened here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN DRISCOLL, ARMY SECRETARY: They embody everything that is good about the American soldier. They ran into battle to the sound of the gunfire, took down the assailant, and then took care of their comrades. And that made all the difference.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: We are also lowering new facts about the shooter as well. According to The New York Times, the father of the shooter indicates that he may have had some issues here with racism that he faced and he was trying to transfer bases. We've asked the Third ID for comment about that. They have not gotten back to us in terms of what that may be. They say it's under investigation. But the real focus here should be on the men and women who really sort of put their lives in the line to save the other ones. In fact, we talked to the young man who dove on the shooter to stop him from shooting more people. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAFF SERGEANT AARON TURNER, U.S. ARMY: So, the teammate ended up coming through. First thing I identified was the hoodie and the sidearm. And then from there, I ended up engaging him as far as talking, trying to down talk him and trying to ensure the safety of the staffs that were (ph) behind me to get out. And then, ejected the round. And then by that timeframe, MPs ended up showing up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: You hear from that he was able to disarm the man and the magazine fell from that gun. They were able to stop him from shooting any more people.

[13:45:00]

What we've also learned though, as this moves forward with the military, that they haven't charged him just yet, and they're still processing the scene. So this is far from being over, but this is a day that so many people will not forget on this base because they've never experienced something like this before.

Reporting at Fort Stewart, Ryan Young, CNN.

KEILAR: On today's Home Front, the nation celebrating National Purple Heart Day when we honor the bravery and sacrifice of service members who are wounded or killed in action. About two hours from now, President Trump will be hosting nearly 100 Purple Heart recipients at the White House. Marking this day in 1782, when General George Washington ordered the creation of the Badge of Military Merit, meant to recognize heroic acts by his troops during the Revolutionary War.

In 1932, on Washington's 200th birthday, the medal was redesigned and renamed the Purple Heart. And from that point on, instead of being awarded for General Merit, it would be given to U.S. military personnel wounded or killed while serving. Nearly 2 million heroes have been awarded America's oldest military decoration, about half of them during World War II. And we'll be right back.

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[13:50:56]

WHITFIELD: All right, from the water cooler to the White House, there has been a lot of talks surrounding the Sydney Sweeney jeans ad by American Eagle. And now, The Big3, the 3x3 Pro Basketball League is weighing in as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYDNEY SWEENEY: I'm not here to tell you to buy jeans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like to play with my dog.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know who got the greatest jeans, but we do know who got the greatest basketball.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGH)

WHITFIELD: OK. Excuse me. KEILAR: That ad, it comes courtesy of The Big3 League, which enters the final week of the regular season. Lots of Hall of Famers and legends taking part, including Dr. J and Gary Payton and our colleague, Boris Sanchez got to speak --

WHITFIELD: I like the dog (ph).

KEILAR: I know with the league's Co-Founder, Ice Cube, about the season, his upcoming tour, and much more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Joining us now is award-winning rapper, actor, producer, and the co-founder of the Big3, Ice Cube. Ice Cube, it's a pleasure to have you on. Thanks so much for joining us. Everyone is weighing in on this Blue Jeans ad, including the president. I wonder what your take is on this commercial and the controversy that surrounded it.

ICE CUBE, CO-FOUNDER, BIG3: All to do about nothing really.

(LAUGH)

ICE CUBE: You know, it's a blue jean ad and it's taking up people's mental space. That's why we had -- we just went and had fun with it.

SANCHEZ: It's now creating publicity for the Big3. It's your eighth season. It's a league that itself isn't without some controversy. There was a brawl recently getting into the crowd between Lance Stephenson, Dwight Howard, and others. I'm a huge Big3, big NBA fan. We've seen how the NBA reacts to fights. They're trying to project a certain image and they do that with suspensions and fines. No fines or suspensions in the Big3 though. How come?

ICE CUBE: Well, you know, this was their first game and I don't know if you call that a fight, that was like a hugging match that kind of tumbled into the -- to the stands. And those guys, they were thrown out the game. We felt like that was punishment enough. And no more of those kind of incidents from those two guys. It didn't take a fine. I mean, yeah, it didn't take a fine or didn't take a suspension that -- to get those guys to act right. You got to know, you know, those guys are not young puppies coming out of college. These are men, grown men, mature, so you deal with them a little different than rookies out of college.

SANCHEZ: I also want to ask you about your tour, a new tour that's starting next month. You're about four decades into this. So, what's motivating Ice Cube to hit the road again?

ICE CUBE: It's the best part of the business. I've been in entertainment and music, movies, now sports, and I still had the most fun on stage. So, it's going to be hard to get me off of that stage. And I get to dig into my catalog. I have the time now. Before I got to kind of go through everything in about an hour and a half, you know. But now I got the time to dig into to my catalog and do songs that some people wish they saw me perform, but they haven't had a chance to. But this tour, they will.

SANCHEZ: Given that you rep Los Angeles like almost no one else, I wonder what was on your mind earlier this year when you were watching protests unfold in the street, folks demonstrating against immigration policies and also the federal response that they got.

ICE CUBE: People got the right to protest, which is great. You can make your feelings known.

[13:55:00]

And you know, federal government, they're a little heavy handed sometimes. So, it's about people still want their dignity, whether they are here legally, if they're not, they still -- they still have dignity and they want to be treated with dignity. And sometimes the agencies are a little heavy handed.

SANCHEZ: So Ice Cube, you've been in some classic films, "Friday", "Boys in the Hood." I do want to give you an opportunity to respond to some of what your new film is generating, "War of the Worlds" 50 Cent I saw suggested that somebody's mad at you for some of these reviews. It has 0 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Is someone mad at you? What do you say in response to those reviews?

(LAUGH)

ICE CUBE: I don't know. At the end of the day, it's a movie that is very controversial. It's also a movie that was done in 2020, when -- because I wouldn't take the vaccine, I was pretty much blackballed from the industry. So, it was a movie that was available. It was a Universal Pictures movie and a lot of people liked the movie. It's still number one in the U.S. It debuted number one in 38 countries, so -- on the platform, of course. So, at the end of the day, it's an old movie. We had to do it that way because of COVID. Nobody thought, we was going to ever be able to be in the same room again. So it was just a different time. And the movie came out, some people like it, some people don't. I don't -- I don't put a lot of weight into critics. They don't like half my movie, so, and half the time they're wrong. So, there we go.

(LAUGH)

SANCHEZ: Hey, Ice Cube, thank you so much for joining us. The Big3 playoffs start on August 17th and you can catch Ice Cube on tour starting in September. Thank you so much for being with us.

ICE CUBE: Anytime, man. Take it easy.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well, we forever love Ice Cube.

KEILAR: Yep.

WHITFIELD: He's damn (ph) chill always.

KEILAR: Oh, he's chill. Love it.

(LAUGH)

WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead. The Dow is falling after President Trump's sweeping tariffs take effect. We'll have the latest on how it could impact your bottom line.

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