My friend Gary writes me just now:
Right near the ‘ice house’ on Route 1 there is a bridge over the Hammonasset River. Tonight around dusk I’m driving towards the bridge and see three boys sitting on the railing in bathing suits. I figure they’ve been jumping into the river. As I drive by I realize that they’ve got they drawers dropped and are mooning the traffic. It’s nice to see kids away from the video games and having fun in the real world.
It is refreshing to see kids doing the normal kid stuff that we grew up doing, and it’s apparently unusual enough to warrant special notice and comment from Gary.
Where are the Children?:
“Of all the things that make me feel as though my time was in the past and I don’t understand this world today, first on my list is the absence of children playing outdoors in suburban neighborhoods.
“Here in Madison, I go for walks past 20 or 30 blocks of houses — good-sized houses with lovely yards and neat sidewalks. Big shade trees line streets that are too narrow to attract any through traffic. And I don’t see any children playing. I see an occasional toy vehicle like the one in the photograph, but not one child. No one rides by on a bike or a tricycle or scooter. Swing sets are empty. No one is playing hopscotch or jumping rope. There are no ball games or frisbees. No kids are running around and yelling. Nothing! Where are they?”
Yes, probably indoors, watching the Disney channel, Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, or playing video games, or IMing their friends for hours on end.
When I was a kid, Mom and Dad said, “Get out of the house!!!”. They didn’t want to see us during the day and if they did, they were trying to get us out of their sight. We’d disappear in the woods and be gone for hours doing all sorts of things that we were likely to get hurt doing.
Today’s parent is more likely to say, “Wait, I’ll go outside with you in a minute… I don’t want you out of my sight.”
Do you think parental fear is out of control? How do you think this is affecting kids today?
