Us old folks (40+) are probably lucky to be here:

[Greg]

Our up stair's neighbor has a son the same age as our daughter. They've been playing together, which is great, except the kid is relentlessly calling for us or our daughter through the screen door or open windows. He has no concept of privacy.

Meh. Roll with it Brian. If the kids like playing with each other, let them have at it. Our house seems like it has a revolving door this summer...

And yeah, the cul-de-sac is key. I grew up on a through street that many people flew through. I think by the age of 6 or 7, I had free reign which sorta supports the original article.

 

[bvibert]

Meh. Roll with it Brian. If the kids like playing with each other, let them have at it.

We do as much as possible, it just gets irritating sometimes... Especially when he's naked for some reason... :???:

 

[SKidds]

This statement will likely apply at any stage of my life, whatever my kids ages are, but I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable with my kids doing the things I did. Not so much a society thing, as much as it is an awareness thing. I don't think society is THAT much different than it used to be, we just know about much more now than people did in the past. Are there more pedophiles, drug dealers, speeders, bullies, etc, etc., etc.? Probably not, but that doesn't mean it's wrong for a parent today to try and protect their kids from things our parents just never thought to. Know what I mean?

Sure, kids are gonna do what kids are gonna do. They are gonna find the train tressle to walk over, or the rivers and streams to play in and around, the trees and cliffs to climb, etc., etc. You really cant stop that, you just pray they don't hurt themselves. They'll blow things up, and shoot bb guns, and generally be destructive in some way (the boys at least). I may have been looking for/doing all of thee above, and more, at a younger age than my kids, but they'll find it. But some things, preventable things, I'll always try to prevent from becoming necessary. When I was in middle and high school I'd ride my bike from town to the schools, roughly 6 miles each way, for sports practices and such, and generally just to be out and about town. I'm not sure I'll ever be comfortable with my kids venturing forth 5 to 10 miles on foot or bike. Too many bad things can happen, and if I can get them there than I know they will be fine.

The tougher one for me, and one I'll have to do, is let them venture a mile or two from home, to the next neighborhood or development over, to visit and play with friends. I just haven't figured out when I'll let that happen. Generally, our kids spend a lot of time outdoors, over at the neighbors, etc., and I'm ok with that.

I know what it's like to have invasive kid neighbors. A family recently moved in next to us, and anytime our kids are out, over they come. Sometimes it's fine, but these kids aren't the best behaved, and sometimes they'll end up in our house (even by themselves) when everyone is supposed to be outside. Then there are the times they hover and stare when we have company at the pool. Sometimes we say come on over, but we can't always.

 

[billski]

I think every kid has a story that they will go through their life and NEVER tell their parents. I know I did. As parents, we always acknowledged that when this would inevitably happen with our kids. As skidds said, you just hope for the best. The best you can do is teach them street smarts and how to make good choices and let it go. We let our kids our "on their own" when they hit their teens. It wasn't the specific age, it was when all three became ready to do it. Once they hit 16 or so, we gave them the OK to go downtown, to Harvard Square, etc,, but they had to have very specific plans and check in with us. They are turning out just fine.

At some point you have to let go. Once the hormones kick in, they will begin pulling away from you anyways (sad), and you take your cue, once you are certain they are capable of handling it and not going off with drug dealers....

 

[AMAC2233]

I'm 16. Since I can remember my early childhood like it was just yesterday (it practically was), I know for a fact that kids still play outside most of the time. I spent time in both a more trafficky, very urban and arguably more dangerous neighborhood, and on a quiet suburban side street that was clearly more protected. In BOTH places we were basically shut out of the house during daylight hours, beginning around the time when we could walk, in all weather except thunderstorms.

Kids play outside. That will never change, no matter how "safe" or "dangerous" the world becomes, or how different the generation gap may be. And as for BB guns...they're still around.

 

[severine]

I don't totally agree with that. In my family there are 4 of us and 12 years between myself (the eldest) and my youngest brother (the youngest in the family). It was like 2 families for us. My sister and I played outside all the time--or at least until the street lights came on. My brothers mostly played video games. They grew up in the so-called "safer" neighborhood (on the cul-de-sac in the PUD versus the nearly downtown dead-end street) and spent far less time outside. Even though I was already in middle school when we moved there, I think I spent more time outside in that neighborhood than they did. My youngest brother will be 20 next month. He just joined a gym 3 weeks or so ago and told me he's quitting because he has nobody to go with. I offered to go with him tonight (and I went!) but he never showed up. We are, technically, of different generations and he's definitely a member of the video game addict group. It's sad to think all he missed out on that I enjoyed as a child outside.

 

[ERJ-145CA]

Ah yes, I remember as a kid, cruising down the highway at 80mph, standing up in the bench seat between my parents, with all the windows rolled down in the middle of the summer! My father saying something about having to burn the carbon off the plugs to keep the engine running good. But I didn't care what the reason was, I just loved the speed and the roar of the V-8! Never realizing for a second that I could be hamburger at any minute. Ah the good old days of blissful ignorance!

Yeah, I remember sitting in the front passenger seat with no seat belt when I was a kid and my mom saying if we hit something she would put her arm out to stop me from flying through the windshield. Ha Ha. I knew nothing of the laws of physics.

I was at the playground with my kids and looked at the mulch and was talking to my wife about how the playgrounds used to be on pavement (I am glad they're not pavement anymore), not mulch. I would be hanging upside down on the jungle jim over pavement. I also noticed that it's hard to find a seesaw these days, I know of one out of about 10 different play grounds.

I'm 39 but I think it is close enough, 40+ seems kind of arbitrary.

 

[Glenn]

I amlost wonder if over protecting kids does more harm than good.

 

[bvibert]

I knew nothing of the laws of physics.

Apparently either did your mom.

I also noticed that it's hard to find a seesaw these days, I know of one out of about 10 different play grounds.

Yeah, a lot of the good stuff is no longer around. The only 'seesaws' that I ever see are those stupid ones that bounce on springs. We used to love those merry-go-rounds that they'd have playgrounds. Get it spinning as fast as you can and see who can hold on. Those were good times.

 

[Warp Daddy]

I amlost wonder if over protecting kids does more harm than good.

Glenn : Parenting is much more art than science . It is a dynamic enigma , part control in the formative years and part loosening of the tight reins as they begin to grow and mature . . Key word is MATURE Emotionally , intellectually and of course lastly physically . SOME NEVER mature Emotionally !!

One of the saddest things to witness at a college is the emotionally crippled offspring of "Helicopter Parents " who because of a smothering environment fail to invest either trust or high expectations for their kids TOTAL development . I'm sure you have all experienced folks in your line of work who are smart as hell BUT never developed Emotional Intelligence " or how to adapt and deal with all of life's imperfections and challenges


As for me as a parent the most difficult task was to morph my role from being teh head coach in our kids life to being merely a consultant / kids were goal oriented , and were always involved with socializing with our colleagues and as such developed fairly adequate skillls

My own childhood was a blessing , i was an active outdoor kinda kid who had friends that made lots of our own fun as did some of you guys . Adults of that era did not Manage/Organize our fun they were too busy . So we learned creative play which i think is wonderful INITIATING behavior

 

[mondeo]

I don't totally agree with that. In my family there are 4 of us and 12 years between myself (the eldest) and my youngest brother (the youngest in the family). It was like 2 families for us. My sister and I played outside all the time--or at least until the street lights came on. My brothers mostly played video games. They grew up in the so-called "safer" neighborhood (on the cul-de-sac in the PUD versus the nearly downtown dead-end street) and spent far less time outside. Even though I was already in middle school when we moved there, I think I spent more time outside in that neighborhood than they did. My youngest brother will be 20 next month. He just joined a gym 3 weeks or so ago and told me he's quitting because he has nobody to go with. I offered to go with him tonight (and I went!) but he never showed up. We are, technically, of different generations and he's definitely a member of the video game addict group. It's sad to think all he missed out on that I enjoyed as a child outside.

I don't know that it's generational so much as it is person to person. This being an outdoors site, most here probably spent a decent amount of time outdoors as kids, independant of age. Biking, skiing, baseball, soccer, playground stuff, etc. was all fairly common for me at various points through high school. I've also played video games in one form or another since I was about 5-6 at a friend's house (no consoles allowed in my family) and then since I was around 8-9 at my own (with the advent of computers with decent graphics capabilities - why PC gaming was allowed while consoles weren't is something I've yet to comprehend.)

Even before video games, though, there were probably varying levels of activity among kids. TV has been prevalent since the 50s, before that radio, before that books, card games, and board games. Video gaming is just carrying the torch of other forms of indoor entertainment before it.

 

[billski]

I'm 16. Since I can remember my early childhood like it was just yesterday (it practically was), I know for a fact that kids still play outside most of the time. I spent time in both a more trafficky, very urban and arguably more dangerous neighborhood, and on a quiet suburban side street that was clearly more protected. In BOTH places we were basically shut out of the house during daylight hours, beginning around the time when we could walk, in all weather except thunderstorms.

Kids play outside. That will never change, no matter how "safe" or "dangerous" the world becomes, or how different the generation gap may be. And as for BB guns...they're still around.

Agreed. Some kids still get to do it and I applaud you for speaking up. Regional and town differences do come in to play. Come to towns like mine and you'd think the place was in lockdown mode. The parents are much more controlling of their kids wanderings around here.

Mondeo is definitely right that kids inclinations vary. However, the internet, especially as it is having a large social influence, has a much larger impact and draw, moreso than TV and video games, largely because it can be interactive person-to-person.

In my younger years, sports and events were not very well organized, were very spontaneous. You'd just find a bunch of people and go. Nowadays, games and just hanging around is extremely organized (too much) in my small part of the world.

I still want a "green pc" so kids have to create their own electricity kinetically.

 

[Glenn]

Glenn : Parenting is much more art than science . It is a dynamic enigma , part control in the formative years and part loosening of the tight reins as they begin to grow and mature . . Key word is MATURE Emotionally , intellectually and of course lastly physically . SOME NEVER mature Emotionally !!

One of the saddest things to witness at a college is the emotionally crippled offspring of "Helicopter Parents " who because of a smothering environment fail to invest either trust or high expectations for their kids TOTAL development . I'm sure you have all experienced folks in your line of work who are smart as hell BUT never developed Emotional Intelligence " or how to adapt and deal with all of life's imperfections and challenges


As for me as a parent the most difficult task was to morph my role from being teh head coach in our kids life to being merely a consultant / kids were goal oriented , and were always involved with socializing with our colleagues and as such developed fairly adequate skillls

My own childhood was a blessing , i was an active outdoor kinda kid who had friends that made lots of our own fun as did some of you guys . Adults of that era did not Manage/Organize our fun they were too busy . So we learned creative play which i think is wonderful INITIATING behavior

Some great insight there!

I've heard stories in HR circles of parents calling the kid's boss (after junior gets his./her first job out of college) regarding a bad review the kid received. eek!

 

[tjf67]

The stuff I did when I was a kid was pretty dangerous...

Not sayin kids don't do that stuff anymore... Just saying that I really recognize that i had dozens of chance to kill myself...

Between
- falling out of trees, haylofts,cliffs, bridges
- falling off of horses, motorbikes, bikes, shopping carts, gocarts.
- blowing up purchased fireworks, homemade fireworks, flammable mixtures
- Shooting bbguns, 22s, shotguns
- Fighting in school, on the street, in the yard...
- setting more things on fire then i can remember...

I think i make it pretty unscathed...

+1 Don't forget the station wagon. You would put the rear seat down. Pile all your friends in the back and have your dad drive around slamming on the breaks and the gas crashing you all over the place. Those were some fun times. We tried it once with a hitchiker in the back of my buddies elcomino, he did not seems to enjoy it like we did.

 

[campgottagopee]

The stuff I did when I was a kid was pretty dangerous...

Not sayin kids don't do that stuff anymore... Just saying that I really recognize that i had dozens of chance to kill myself...

Between
- falling out of trees, haylofts,cliffs, bridges
- falling off of horses, motorbikes, bikes, shopping carts, gocarts.
- blowing up purchased fireworks, homemade fireworks, flammable mixtures
- Shooting bbguns, 22s, shotguns
- Fighting in school, on the street, in the yard...
- setting more things on fire then i can remember...

I think i make it pretty unscathed...

+1 Don't forget the station wagon. You would put the rear seat down. Pile all your friends in the back and have your dad drive around slamming on the breaks and the gas crashing you all over the place. Those were some fun times. We tried it once with a hitchiker in the back of my buddies elcomino, he did not seems to enjoy it like we did.

+2 and I'll add

Slushing cars---always good fun until you hit a bare spot
Countless hrs hunting, fishing

 

[awf170]

One of the saddest things to witness at a college is the emotionally crippled offspring of "Helicopter Parents " who because of a smothering environment fail to invest either trust or high expectations for their kids TOTAL development .

Yep. So many of those kids become instant druggies and alcoholics once they reach college.

I think every kid has a story that they will go through their life and NEVER tell their parents. I know I did. As parents, we always acknowledged that when this would inevitably happen with our kids.

Not me, but I don't think I ever did anything super dumb. The one thing I haven't told my parents is how I slid down about 400' of vert. in Huntington Ravine on my ass and avoided a rock by only a few feet while doing about 30-40mph. I'll tell them at some point, but right now there is really no point to stress them out anymore about BC skiing.

 

[Greg]

+1 Don't forget the station wagon. You would put the rear seat down. Pile all your friends in the back and have your dad drive around slamming on the breaks and the gas crashing you all over the place. Those were some fun times. We tried it once with a hitchiker in the back of my buddies elcomino, he did not seems to enjoy it like we did.

We used to head up to the Cape every summer in a royal blue 1973 Ford Gran Torino like this one, but blue:

My buddy Michael and I would sit in the back. Every summer three things would happen, guaranteed:

• The three and half hour ride would take us close to 5
• We would have at least one blow-out at 60 MPH on 95 somewhere in RI with my dad muscling the car off the side of the road
• Michael would get car sick.

:lol: Thinking about it now, I know why my mom would stress over those trips....

 

[billski]

• Michael would get car sick.

:lol: Thinking about it now, I know why my mom would stress over those trips....

Brings back memories. Once in the Adirondacks, my parents bought a box of maple sugar candy. Being a large station wagon, we managed to sequester it far, out of parental sight in back and gorged ourselves on it. One by one, we all got car sick. We let the dog out to relieve herself and she ran into a barnyard and came back dripping of manure.

It was the longest drive of our lives. :sad:

 

[Warp Daddy]

Yep. So many of those kids become instant druggies and alcoholics once they reach college.

RIGHT ON TARGET AUSTIN !!!!!!!

Not me, but I don't think I ever did anything super dumb. The one thing I haven't told my parents is how I slid down about 400' of vert. in Huntington Ravine on my ass and avoided a rock by only a few feet while doing about 30-40mph. I'll tell them at some point, but right now there is really no point to stress them out anymore about BC skiing.

Good idea hold it till you're about 30-45 yrs old then spring it on them AFTER a great day of skiing as you're sitting around a fireplace getting mellow -- that's when my BELOVED son laid some shit on me

 

[wa-loaf]

Good idea hold it till you're about 30-45 yrs old then spring it on them AFTER a great day of skiing as you're sitting around a fireplace getting mellow -- that's when my BELOVED son laid some shit on me

Care to share? :lol: