Do kids play outside where you live?

[sundog]

Sunny, every time I look at your avatar, I start laughing.

Do I need to change it?

[troutman]

There are handfuls of kids here and there, but nothing like when I grew up.

This^^^ in my neighborhood. We were out constantly when I was a kid. My neighborhood growing up was full of kids around my age too. Kids would also ride bikes to other neighborhoods and play with other kids and they would ride to ours. What a great time... :sigh: :codger:

 

Yep,

 

We had our chores to do. But we were always threatened with other work to do if we did not go out and play/find some thing to do. Gone all day. The good old days!! :codger: :7up:

And I'll bet your parents never freaked out.

 

I live in the woods and there are some danger factors--bear, and a mountain lion (though TWRA says no). However, I'm raising my 9 and 6 year old to be circumspect. Anyway, just get OUT of the house when you can. I FORCE them out.

 

Never,

 

There were threats of nasty snakes ect. But we got the hell out of there and took our chances. It was a great time back in the day. :D

[troutman]

I was coming down the stairs in our house the other day and looked outside. There were two girls walking down the street. A few seconds later, they stopped, together, looked down at their phones, and started to text.

 

I LOL'd...

 

Yep,

 

Pretty sad!!

[The Analog Cub]

There are handfuls of kids here and there, but nothing like when I grew up.

This^^^ in my neighborhood. We were out constantly when I was a kid. My neighborhood growing up was full of kids around my age too. Kids would also ride bikes to other neighborhoods and play with other kids and they would ride to ours. What a great time... :sigh: :codger:

 

Yep,

 

We had our chores to do. But we were always threatened with other work to do if we did not go out and play/find some thing to do. Gone all day. The good old days!! :codger: :7up:

And I'll bet your parents never freaked out.

 

I live in the woods and there are some danger factors--bear, and a mountain lion (though TWRA says no). However, I'm raising my 9 and 6 year old to be circumspect. Anyway, just get OUT of the house when you can. I FORCE them out.

 

Do you run into any of these guys?

 

http://youtu.be/sZa26_esLBE

[Lorraine]

Sunny, every time I look at your avatar, I start laughing.

Do I need to change it?

Heavens no! I just love the expression on your face and how you are peering. :)

[x1yyz]

There are handfuls of kids here and there, but nothing like when I grew up.

This^^^ in my neighborhood. We were out constantly when I was a kid. My neighborhood growing up was full of kids around my age too. Kids would also ride bikes to other neighborhoods and play with other kids and they would ride to ours. What a great time... :sigh: :codger:

 

Yep,

 

We had our chores to do. But we were always threatened with other work to do if we did not go out and play/find some thing to do. Gone all day. The good old days!! :codger: :7up:

And I'll bet your parents never freaked out.

 

I live in the woods and there are some danger factors--bear, and a mountain lion (though TWRA says no). However, I'm raising my 9 and 6 year old to be circumspect. Anyway, just get OUT of the house when you can. I FORCE them out.

 

We had poison oak to worry about. Get that a few times and you learn to identify and avoid it! But yeah, we'd play out in the street, in the canyons, and we'd go hours without our parents knowing where we were.

[sundog]

There are handfuls of kids here and there, but nothing like when I grew up.

This^^^ in my neighborhood. We were out constantly when I was a kid. My neighborhood growing up was full of kids around my age too. Kids would also ride bikes to other neighborhoods and play with other kids and they would ride to ours. What a great time... :sigh: :codger:

 

Yep,

 

We had our chores to do. But we were always threatened with other work to do if we did not go out and play/find some thing to do. Gone all day. The good old days!! :codger: :7up:

And I'll bet your parents never freaked out.

 

I live in the woods and there are some danger factors--bear, and a mountain lion (though TWRA says no). However, I'm raising my 9 and 6 year old to be circumspect. Anyway, just get OUT of the house when you can. I FORCE them out.

 

We had poison oak to worry about. Get that a few times and you learn to identify and avoid it! But yeah, we'd play out in the street, in the canyons, and we'd go hours without our parents knowing where we were.

Digi grew up in the Bay area - and he tells the same stories!

[Janie]

Good lord no. Kids do not play outside around here. It irks me but it's a product of where we're located. Most kids are shuffled between school and after-school activities (mostly soccer, swimming, ballet). Some people have dared to put basketball hoops on their front sidewalk but the hoop technically hangs over onto the street and that breaks the rules for our neighborhood. We do have a problem with bored teenagers who tend to terrorize kids if they see them out (the latest round of teenagers seem to be sneaking up on little kids, shave a portion of their hair off and mow them over) so parents don't want their little ones out. We also have this watchgroup who reports cars that do not seem to have a purpose in our subdivision.

 

It's so weird to me having grown up in a normal neighborhood in the 70s. I was always outside! Always!

[blueschica]

We moved to our town in 1989; at the time we didn't know what a blessing it would be for our kids to grow up in a small town with sidewalks and enough nosy retired people to keep an eye out for trouble :) There are a lot of organized fall sports here but kids play outside also. Our 60's housing development is one big loop w/o much traffic so kids often bike, play basketball and skateboard on our street. I also was the kind of mom that used to kick the kids outside in the summer since I remembered all the adventures my friends and I had growing up! I'm glad there are some kids around now as most of mine moved out and it seems quiet after all these years. . . :)

[lerxt1990]

Yes - but not as much as yesteryear. But if I had the internet, an ipad, and/or Xbox One, Id have been outside less too :)

[Digital Dad]

The 3 of us same aged kids on my street had a Coleco, and Atari and an Intellivision and we still had time go go out and play stuff outside, ride bikes or whatever. I don't see any of that on my street, but like I said the parks are loaded. There are approx 5 schools within about a half mile radius so I know there are kids out there. People seem generally more sheltered these days anyway. I know I am. I am a hermit. :)

[Blue J]

Yes - but not as much as yesteryear. But if I had the internet, an ipad, and/or Xbox One, Id have been outside less too :)

 

This is along the lines of something I was going to suggest- kids are so "plugged in" to so many things that are being directed/marketed at them (that is, as long as the parents allow that into their kids' lives). It's one of the things that has made parenting, or at least raising kids, more difficult than it used to be.

 

My sons play outside a good amount. But sometimes they do have to be told that they are to go outside! :codger: They're really good kids, but it is apparent to me that I've allowed too much in the video game arena to enter into their lives.

 

 

 

 

 

I'm waiting for Disk98 to enter a post here, so we can all tell him to go outside.