OT: Interesting article on unsupervised play and kids
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BAC, instant classic. I'm stealing this line. Sums it up wonderfully.
Red lines and Mongooses were sweet rides. Exceptionally light frames. I had a Mongoose. A guy from town who is my older brothers age collects all those vintage BMX bikes.Im starting to collect the old skateboard decks from the 80's.
All the time. My HS son, a three sport athlete, plays pick up basketball, whiffle ball, soccer, and football with his group of friends, a lot. He lived at the HS field over the summer as a 14,15 year old. He, and a big group of kids, were there every night the whole summer And as far as whiffle ball, they would play more if our neighbor didn't complain about the balls that go over the fence and into his back yard.
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I kept my Diamond Back at my parents house and my son got it when he was old enough. The bike is 33 years old now and in great shape. The only problem is that my son hates the uni turbo seat, made for racing, not comfort.
#s you describe my childhood to a "T" I was lucky that in my neighborhood there were about 10 boys within a year or two of me all within a 1 block radius. We played whatever sport was in season, including all day ice hockey games in the winter (bring a bagged lunch so you didnt have to go home) Fires in the woods, sneaking into the HS to play chase the fox which also included making the janitor chase us through the halls. He was deaf and had trouble talking so we called him the blah blah man. It also helped every family had a minimum of 5 kids. I watch Stand By Me as a biography of my childhood
All of this is one of the reasons I love Ocean City. I tell people all the time its like going back in time. Kids ride their bikes everywhere. Last night the HS football game was against Mainland HS across the bridge. I saw dozens of kids riding their bikes over the bridge to the game. It was pretty cool to see. I see little kids playing kickball in the street still, and ringing doorbells and hiding in the bushes around Halloween. Its a great place to raise a family and moving here was the best thing we did as a family.
All of this is one of the reasons I love Ocean City. I tell people all the time its like going back in time. Kids ride their bikes everywhere. Last night the HS football game was against Mainland HS across the bridge. I saw dozens of kids riding their bikes over the bridge to the game. It was pretty cool to see. I see little kids playing kickball in the street still, and ringing doorbells and hiding in the bushes around Halloween. Its a great place to raise a family and moving here was the best thing we did as a family.
Thanks for touting your son's athletic prowess to the board, and we are truly impressed by it, but this topic is meant to be a bit more general than that.
As bac said, he often drives around during the day and sees ballfields empty except when organized team sports are playing. Many of us see the same thing. When we were kids we gathered at the fields to play pickup games and other outdoor activities, probably because there was nothing to do at home and we wanted to be outside, as did our parents.
Today with all of the electronic games, videos, tv shows, etc kids have more entertainment options at home. Added to that are a change in parenting views, where many parents are more protective of their children and don't allow them to play unsupervised with others, which leads to increased frequency of play dates, sleepovers, etc.
Pretty much the same here. Our yard was the gathering place for most of the neighborhood. Our yard was a full acre with a large flat open spot in the deep back that was perfect for wiffle ball that was played non stop from 8am-dark. a side yard that was perfect for tackle football and kill the carrier. behind our yard was undeveloped woods and swamp.
Dad bought the property next door to us that was complete swamp. For a couple of years we would play in that swamp for hours. Later, he wanted to fill it in so he could put a house on it for his aging parents. This leads to most of my summers.
After breakfast, first rule of the day, each one of us boys had to go back into the woods behind our house and dig up 4 wheelbarrows of dirt each and dump into the swamp. There were four of us doing this.
After digging dirt, we all got refreshments from the garden hose and we all would either start playing wiffle ball or gather for riding bikes through the woods. At some point you would hear one of the mothers yelling lunch and we all took our breaks, ate lunch and went back out. We used to play army first with apples from our crab apple trees and when we got older, BB guns. Rolled each other down hills rolled up inside old tires, built forts, burnt down said forts lol played outside well past dark. Most of the time, parents never knew where we were.
There is no way in HELL my kids were ever able to do the same and it is a shame.
Dad bought the property next door to us that was complete swamp. For a couple of years we would play in that swamp for hours. Later, he wanted to fill it in so he could put a house on it for his aging parents. This leads to most of my summers.
After breakfast, first rule of the day, each one of us boys had to go back into the woods behind our house and dig up 4 wheelbarrows of dirt each and dump into the swamp. There were four of us doing this.
After digging dirt, we all got refreshments from the garden hose and we all would either start playing wiffle ball or gather for riding bikes through the woods. At some point you would hear one of the mothers yelling lunch and we all took our breaks, ate lunch and went back out. We used to play army first with apples from our crab apple trees and when we got older, BB guns. Rolled each other down hills rolled up inside old tires, built forts, burnt down said forts lol played outside well past dark. Most of the time, parents never knew where we were.
There is no way in HELL my kids were ever able to do the same and it is a shame.
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