1KHO 610: Children Have a Right To Play | Russell York, COSMO

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich

Parenting, Kids & Family

4.9 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this powerful and timely conversation, 1000 Hours Outside founder Ginny Yurich sits down with Russell York, CEO of Cosmo, a leading kids smartwatch company, to explore one of the most pressing issues of modern childhood: the loss of unstructured play and freedom. They also discuss the brand new partnership between their organizations and the launch of the Cosmo x 1000 Hours Outside Adventure Bundle, available here! This is a limited-edition offer designed for families like ours who value connection, freedom, and real-world adventure. With the bundle you'll get: ✅ FREE JrTrack 5 Kids Smartwatch ✅ FREE custom 1000 Hours Outside wrist band ✅ FREE extra teal wrist band ✅ 1000 Hours Outside logo sticker ✅ 3 months of Cosmo Membership FREE During the episode, Russell and Ginny unpack how our culture’s shift toward constant supervision, fear, and screens has reshaped childhood, and how technology, when designed with intention, can actually help restore kids’ independence. Russell shares how Cosmo’s innovative smartwatch gives families the best of both worlds - connection and freedom - allowing parents peace of mind while giving kids room to explore, play, and build real-world friendships. Ginny and Russell reflect on the developmental importance of long stretches of playtime, the social “glue” kids create in neighborhoods, and why reclaiming outdoor independence is vital for children’s mental health, confidence, and sense of community. You’ll hear stories, research, and insights that challenge the norms of over-parenting, highlight the transformative power of free play, and celebrate a shared mission between Cosmo and 1000 Hours Outside, to reconnect families and rebuild neighborhoods through trust, autonomy, and adventure. Tune in to learn: Why unstructured outdoor play is essential for mental health and development How a sense of control builds resilience in kids (and adults) What “un-parenting” really means, and why it matters How Cosmo Smartwatches are helping families safely rediscover the magic of neighborhood play Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's that time of year again, which can only mean one thing.
0:05.0	Save a third off roasting joints at Waitrose.
0:08.0	Choose from tender beef silverside, succulent whole brined and seasoned chicken or juicy beach-smoked gammon.
0:15.0	So, fire up your ovens and give winter a warm welcome with a third off roasting joints. Waitrose, the home
0:22.7	of food lovers. Selected lines and stores subject to availability. Prices may vary in Channel Islands,
0:27.3	little waitros and partners and concessions off for ends 11th of November. Welcome to the 1000
0:31.2	Hours Outside podcast. My name is Jenny Yers and the founder of 1000 Hours Outside. And for the fourth
0:36.6	time, treasured guest, Russell York is back.
0:40.8	Welcome.
0:41.8	Thank you so much.
0:43.1	Number four, we did it.
0:44.5	Number four.
0:45.5	You know, I was thinking about when we connected.
0:47.8	So you are this incredible entrepreneur.
0:51.3	You started this company where you're making smart watches for kids and really are
0:55.4	very intentional about making sure that technology works for the family and works for the child.
1:00.6	And we had these eye-opening conversations like when we first connected, it was years ago.
1:05.7	I remember it was in the summer because we were over by Lake Michigan. We live in Michigan.
1:10.5	We were over at Lake Michigan and I live in Michigan. We were over at
1:11.7	Lake Michigan and I was speaking at an event. So I was like kind of with the kids and then we'd go to the
1:16.0	event and then come back. And they were wearing the Cosmo Watch and we were picking blueberries. I mean,
1:22.4	I have this distinct memory of like how old everybody was. And we had these conversations, Russell,
	...

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