Foo - Are we lucky to be alive?

or are kids today way too over protected?
When I gerw up the only time you wore a helmet was playing hockey or football. I remember building plywood ramps, built up with bricks and jumping my huffy as far as I could go, all the kids did it. We rode our crappy plastic skateboards down every steep hill around. We build go carts and rode them down the same steep hills, in traffic. Every kid had a BB gun. Fist fights were no big deal. We actually walked to Grammar school, about a 1/4 mile away and walked home. On the weekends, you left your house in the morning and just had to be home by dinner.
I see my friends kids, if they want to play with a friend, the parents calls the Mom, sets up a play date, and then drives the kid over, and they play video games inside all day. What happened to just grabing a football, walking over, knocking on the door, and saying, "Hey can Kevin come out?", then running off the the feild to meet all the other kids?
I'm glad I grew up when I did.

I remember building plywood ramps, built up with bricks and jumping my huffy as far as I could go.


Pegs. . . . shocks. . . . LUCKY!

Ever take it off any sweet jumps?

or are kids today way too over protected?
When I gerw up the only time you wore a helmet was playing hockey or football. I remember building plywood ramps, built up with bricks and jumping my huffy as far as I could go, all the kids did it. We rode our crappy plastic skateboards down every steep hill around. We build go carts and rode them down the same steep hills, in traffic. Every kid had a BB gun. Fist fights were no big deal. We actually walked to Grammar school, about a 1/4 mile away and walked home. On the weekends, you left your house in the morning and just had to be home by dinner.
I see my friends kids, if they want to play with a friend, the parents calls the Mom, sets up a play date, and then drives the kid over, and they play video games inside all day. What happened to just grabing a football, walking over, knocking on the door, and saying, "Hey can Kevin come out?", then running off the the feild to meet all the other kids?
I'm glad I grew up when I did.
Yeah, that's pretty sick. Welcome to the American Dream.

People have better standards of survival now. They just don't live anymore.

When my brothers and I were young, my parents would tell my older brother that he was in charge, then they'd pack up the car and go camping alone for the weekend, leaving a 3rd grader, 4th grader, & 7th grader alone. We had no emergency number to call to get in contact with them as they were camping and cell phones didn't exists (and even if they did, my dad would never get one). We'd play in the neighborhood like efrobert did. In the summer, my parents would buy us passes to the public pool that was 2.5 blocks away & we'd spend our days swimming (mostly) unsupervised. When I started going to Jr. High, it was 1 mile away, which was just close enough that I wasn't in the bus route zone. So I had to walk it.

We washed our hands before we ate, but we didn't have anti-bacterial soap.
I don't remember my parents ever owning a child car safety seat.
As for cars, we only had one that had shoulder belts: a 1976 Chevy Vega. Well, our AMC Hornets had them, but they were optional. The Dodge A100 van didn't even have headrests.

To a certain extent, I can understand the level of supervision with which today's kids are subjected. Sexual predators and other deviants are much more prevalent today than they seemed to be when I was young. Of course, it could just be that we have more access to news and information today than in the past, so we're reading more about it.

I'm new to this forum and have been lurking for quite some time now. I have to say, this is an excellent post. It's definitely something I see on a daily basis. Being 26 at the moment, I have no children, but I am a volunteer for the Big Brothers Big Sisters Association. I notice that the child that I mentor would rather sit on a computer all day than be active. When I'm broke or it's absolutely freezing out, I'll let him do that, but when it's warm, I make sure his ass is outside doing activities.

I grew up the same way. Wake up early and out the door to see my friends. We would go to the lake, skateboard all day, ride bikes, walk to the malls, go hiking and just hang out. Then I'd be home whenever. My mom didn't care, as long as she knew where I was.

Technology is great, but there's also a down side to it. It's making everyone lazy.

Kids lives need to less structured, less protected, etc., but times have changed. The 24/7 media fear-mongerers hype up every missing child, so parents think that evil lurks around every corner. Kids then don't get the opportunities to ride/walk/run around the neighborhood, lest the parents look like they are skirting their duties of 'protecting the kids.'

The structuring by parents also inhibits kids' imaginations. Making up games outside, figuring out a pecking order amongst friends, picking sides for games, etc. That's tough when it's a 'play date.'

Also, kids are not learning how to lose anymore. Your team didn't score the most goals? No problem! There's a medal for everyone and cookies & refreshments for the effort! Learning how to win/lose graciously is becoming a lost art in the name of protecting fragile egos. Kids are so resilient and just need to be given the opportunity to show it.

That's all specious reasoning on my part, but I think it's become the case these days.

not a new issue in places were I have lived the last 20 years. Apt next door some elederly woman was murdered( in Fla. .). As a kid, someone stabbed me in the neck for my coke. Got mugged and held to against a wall in Detroit, they were happy to run off with just my wallet. Lucky for me. Even once in the yuppie . upper class city in north San Diego got propositioned by a hooker at a bank ATM.
Couple times heard gun shots while driving on LA freeways. Stopped tricker treating in my teens , because razor blades don't taste too terrible good. Goes back 20 plus some years. Where you been living, Vermont, Iowa.

Look on the bright side. When the Apocalypse finally arrives, these fat little sheltered toads will be your competition for food. And the ones that fail to make the cut will become food, ensuring your survival.

explody lush brings it into perspective, yet again. kudos.

If you are not careful, knowledge will freeze you. There are some very smart people who are scared to death of everything - like the show "Monk".

You have to live your life - and a percentage of us will die while doing it. Get over it. You cannot be safe - no matter what you do. Minimize the risk if you wish, but you still need to live.

A good example is this morning. I have decided to fish first things in the morning, about 5:30 am, I headed to the cabin to get my fishing gear, told my farm manager I was going fishing and headed to the river which is about 3/4 of a kilometer down hill inside our finca.

I have seen foot prints of jaguars in that area and tapir (which are much more dangerous). Fine, I made noise and had my dog with me. Also, there are more than 25 poisonous snakes in Costa Rica - some of which live on our farm.

After arriving at the river, I finished on the edge of a rapid, if I fell and hit my head I would have surely drowned. I watched where I stepped. I caught a sabalo - not very big - on about the second cast. After another 10 minutes, I ran back up hill (okay, walked and ran in combination), changed my clothes to biking stuff - and headed for the office bombing down a road that is steep with gravel , rock and dust.

I am sure the fear freaks would of had a heart attack - I had a wonderful time. One thing is for sure - I probably won't die in a nursing home, and to me, that is the goal.

You have to live your life - and a percentage of us will die while doing it. Get over it.

100% of us will die while doing it!

God, I can only hope to die while doing it... *wink wink*

*nudge nudge*

yeah, talk about rigor mortis setting in....

Haha this thread went down hill fast.

I don't think "are we lucky to be alive?" is the right wording, for me "are we lucky to not be dead?" is more appropriate for how my friends and I grew up.

I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

100% of us will die while doing it!

True that - but my meaning was that if you are attempting to enjoy life and live it - well sometimes you might just have lived longer if you stayed a coach potato. I expect my last words to be "OOPS!".

... and have the spectators reply, "that's not an 'oops', that's an OH *****!". :D

It is hard to let your kids make mistakes, but they will whether you wish it or not. My wife and I were talking about this, this morning. What do you wish? To raise an independent person who will be fine when you are gone - or keep them safe?

I think what I want on my tombstone (that is if they can find enough of me worth burying) is "All Used Up". However you want to look at it, we only get one life, whether a gift or a fluke of the Universe. I want to make that life worth something.

Life is a great gift - it just seems to be a waste to use it to watch sitcoms.

Life is a great gift - it just seems to be a waste to use it to watch sitcoms.
Or hanging out on the internet all day...

:rolleyes: :p :D

You forgot:

Dirt bomb fights where most kids packed rocks inside the dirt bombs.
Slingshot fights, using high power sling shots to shoot each other with pebbles or acorns.
Riding your bike to your friends house 2 miles away down a busy road with no shoulder or sidewalk.
Organized sports where there were actually winners and losers.

Safety standards today make life no fun for kids. Even since the early 90's, when I was a kid, toy guns have all but disappeared. There was a great article in Wired magazine about a year ago about how chemistry sets today basically contain salt, in containers plastered with warning labels and disclaimers. There were quotes in this article from nobel prize winners and other famous chemists that all basically said, "I got into chemistry because I liked to blow things up, and today kids can't do that anymore." Even high school chemistry labs have been made too safe, for fear of lawsuits. It was a great article.

In my opinion, all these ridiculous safety standards boil down to people trying to cover their asses from being sued by foolish and/or greedy people. It makes me very angry.

=There was a great article in Wired magazine about a year ago about how chemistry sets today basically contain salt, in containers plastered with warning labels and disclaimers. There were quotes in this article from nobel prize winners and other famous chemists that all basically said, "I got into chemistry because I liked to blow things up, and today kids can't do that anymore." Even high school chemistry labs have been made too safe, for fear of lawsuits. It was a great article.
And we in the U.S. wonder why the math & science gap grows wider and wider with each passing year....

:mad:

Pretty much the same for me as many others. Only thing I would add is that where I work I often see a pickup that is the business vehicle of a guy who makes his living catching rattlesnakes. When I was a boy there was no rattlesnake problem. Of course there were also plenty of 12 year old boys running free.

On the serious side about dangers today. I do not feel things are significantly more dangerous today than they were 30 years ago. EXCEPT FOR ONE THING. 30 years ago when you were out playing you were with a group of 5 to 15 others. There really is safety in numbers. If you screwed up and got hurt someone would run for help (rare). If close to one of the kids homes that is where one would run. But you could have knocked on any door and got help. Not so today. The safety in numbers is significantly reduced, because the numbers are reduced. One still hopes a child could knock on any door and get help, but between both parents working and people who don't want to get involved I would not bet on it.

or are kids today way too over protected?
When I gerw up the only time you wore a helmet was playing hockey or football. I remember building plywood ramps, built up with bricks and jumping my huffy as far as I could go, all the kids did it. We rode our crappy plastic skateboards down every steep hill around. We build go carts and rode them down the same steep hills, in traffic. Every kid had a BB gun. Fist fights were no big deal. We actually walked to Grammar school, about a 1/4 mile away and walked home. On the weekends, you left your house in the morning and just had to be home by dinner.
I see my friends kids, if they want to play with a friend, the parents calls the Mom, sets up a play date, and then drives the kid over, and they play video games inside all day. What happened to just grabing a football, walking over, knocking on the door, and saying, "Hey can Kevin come out?", then running off the the feild to meet all the other kids?
I'm glad I grew up when I did.


Many things happened to cause these changes. Just take a look at the threat that portus posted showing the **&()_*)* teaching the 2 year old to smoke pot. In todays world we have to really watch who is around our kids. It is sad.

I think I remember reading in Melville's novel Typee how he wrote about how mothers in America and England would be astounded at how the little kids were aloud to climb coconut trees to fetch a coconut. I guess this has been going on for some time now.

Some of the parents that I know of allow there kids to live the way we used to but then most of them are cavers (inside joke to those in the know)

I think our litigious society has a lot to do with this. People are more afraid of getting sued then getting hurt :(

Most parents wouldn't sleep well if they knew what little Johnny was really doing... I know my mom didn't like me climbing on swing sets - so I took up rock climbing as an adult... You just can't stop some urges. :)

The increase in number of idiots out there is a direct result of all this protection for "our own good"! I'd prefer less protection and more Darwinism...

If you are not careful, knowledge will freeze you. There are some very smart people who are scared to death of everything - like the show "Monk".


Knowledge only scares someone if they only know about the tip of the iceberg or think the proper reaction is "too much work". If you know about the entire chunk of ice, it's far easier to navigate around it.

That's part of why I am such a knowledge hound....I like learning how things work, and how to make things work better than before.

And I feel some of these safety things are godo, but we are taking it overkill....play-dates? I'd ground my kid if he didn't have the balls to walk next door to ask Timmy to play ball.

And we in the U.S. wonder why the math & science gap grows wider and wider with each passing year....

:mad:

My school is spending $12 Million of state money on Astroturf and lights for the soccer and football fields.

Not one of the printers in the school has a good amount paper in it, or enough ink.

Average SAT score ~ 900.

Goota give dem good ol boys a place to play their fooosball!

My school is spending $12 Million of state money on Astroturf and lights for the soccer and football fields.

Not one of the printers in the school has a good amount paper in it, or enough ink.

Average SAT score ~ 900.

Awe come on where is your school spirit? What are you not good enough to join the team. Ha Ha what a looser.

j/k

:D

wtf are grown adults doing supporting the term or concept of "play dates"?

wtf are grown adults doing supporting the term or concept of "play dates"?
Well, it used to be the grown adults saying something like: "What's todays date? Whatever it is, go outside and play! And don't come back till suppertime/dusk/whenever, or else you're doing chores!"

It's not the kids' fault. It's the adults'. Overprotection is a symptom of paranoia, borne from the knowledge and fear of 'what's out there'. Hell, you can go online now and find that there's a multiple-count child molester 3 doors down from you...and you see neighbors speeding through their own neighborhood talking on cell phones and oblivious to kids at play.

I'm teaching my boys three simple rules: Look both ways before you cross the street, let me know where you are or where you're going, come when I call for you.

Seems to me that these were accepted back in the 70's and early 80's...but parents from that generation (like 32 y.o. me) seem to forget these basic rules.

I just remembered: when the weather was bad, instead of going outside and playing, we'd stay inside and either play with our LEGO, or read. My younger brother and I would ride our bikes to the city library and join the summer reading program. We were always #1 & #2 for most books read. Sometimes we'd read so many books that the chart wasn't large enough to keep up with us, and our individual totals were larger than all the other kids' totals combined.

Awe come on where is your school spirit? What are you not good enough to join the team. Ha Ha what a looser.

j/k

:D

Good enough?

Our team is 2-18 over the last two seasons. :p

I just remembered: when the weather was bad, instead of going outside and playing, we'd stay inside and either play with our LEGO, or read.
When it rained? Board games! Monopoly, Risk, Life, Stratego, Mastermind, Connect Four, Dark Tower, Battleship, checkers, chess, card games. You name it, we played it and learned how to outstrategize one another.

Time tended to fly by when you were all spread out on the living room floor trying to keep your older brother(s) from cheating you out of money in Monopoly, or moving pieces when you weren't looking.

I'm guessing now it's all about plopping down for a few hours of PS3 or XBox when it rains (or shines)?