A Flashback
Do you remember when this:
Was all you needed to have an adventure?
When we would leave the house shortly after breakfast, and not return until the street light’s came on? And our parents didn’t worry one bit, and since this was before cell phones, there was no way for them to get a hold of us anyway. Oh, the adventures my friends and I had, forts were built, battles were waged, epic two hand touch football games were played. When we got hurt, we shook it off and played some more, when we got tired we sat, hungry? We went to the nearest friend’s house and raided the fridge. What happened to those days?
Some would argue that the world was a safer place then. I’m not so sure, I think that with today’s technology and 24 hour news cycle, we just hear about the danger more. That makes the world a scarier place to send our kids out in. I can’t even say that I’ll feel comfortable enough to send my boys out into the world by themselves, certainly not without some kind of electronic leash. But I do think I can help them use that imagination, and give them a place to explore, the freedom to adventure. It’s up to me really, to turn off the TV, and make something happen for them. It’s up to me, to cut back on the episodes of Phineas and Ferb, and games of Angry Birds on the iPad. It’s up to me to help them find wonder.
Because you know what? Wonder is still out there.
Right there with you, Adam! I’m sad that things aren’t the way they were when we were kids. But I try to provide my kids with the same wonder and independence – while conforming to social pressure to keep my eye on them. I feel like I just keep taking baby steps away from them as they grow – giving them a wider circle to explore and set their imagination free. (And Big Wheels were the best! We used to go flying down our steep driveway with only socks on – feet for brakes – only stopping when we’d hit the chain link fence across the street!
I totally agree. When I was 12 or so, me and my friends rollerbladed from Irvine to Balboa, No cell phones, just a quarter for a phone call.
Adam, you sound like a wonderful and caring Dad! We in California have so many opportunities to share the outdoors with kids and grandkids.
Keep up the good work.
The world was a much safer place then. The media, which used to practice real journalism without providing personal bias or propaganda, would have jumped on kids being kidnapped or killed no matter what else was happening in the world. However, we seldom heard about those things so I know that they weren’t common occurences. I blame the lack of safety today on permissive parents, our Society changing and Government and Unions getting involved with our Public School Systems bringing propagainda into the schools while driving God, Competition and the teaching of proper manners and The Golden Rule out. We have always had violence and many more kids played with guns when I was young than do so today. However, kids have very violent video games and movies that their parents allow to see and they don’t teach them about God, the Golden Rule or provide them with any common sense to stay away from trouble before it happens. We used to have security in school when I went to school in the 50′s and 60′s. We had a Security Guard and a Vice Principal and Janitors who would roam the campus looking for any suspicious people, vandals or kids smoking or being truant to their classes. The police would have responded a lot more quickly in the old days than they do now since they’ll wait for SWAT and a Negotiator to arrive before they would ever move in. In the old days, they would take more risks, particularly if kids’ lives were in jeopardy. I say, bring back the spanking, competition to achieve excellence, obeying our laws, the teaching of religious principles and the Golden Rule, honesty and fairness and a respect for elders and other people and there will again. As long as you have a Godless, Lawless, overly permissive, dictatorial Govt. running things, everything will continue getting worse.
That is why I wish for the old day’s of playing sports in the street yelling out “CAR!!”.I also miss Church and how TV had something really worth watching together as a family.Having neighborhood’s with values and respecting each other(watching over all the kid’s on the block).Miss the good old day’s for sure.