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I live in an apartment complex that is mostly young families with small children. There really isn't a green space, no playground, and no real dedicated area for the kids to play. It's basically a little "concrete jungle." It's not really walkable to anything else, though there is a municipal bike trail behind the complex.
I see the kids out playing in the parking lot and can't help thinking they're a little deprived compared to how I grew up in a house with a large yard, and other kids in the neighborhood to play with in the yards. The space feels so confined and unnatural for a child. The apartments themselves aren't that big either.
Do you think raising kids in apartments is healthy? How do you compensate for the lack of space?
I know that a lot of people in apartments take their children to parks on a regular basis. Of course, it is not the same as just walking outside to a big back yard but often playgrounds have far more equipment such as swings and slides and climbing equipment that many people, even with their own backyards, do not have. Also, in the park there are often playmates of the same age. That is not always the case in your own backyard or immediate neighborhood.
And, apartment sizes & family situations vary dramatically. There is a huge difference between having one or two children in a two bedroom apartment and, as an example, having four or five children in the same size apartment.
Location: Scott County, Tennessee/by way of Detroit
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Originally Posted by Serious Conversation
I live in an apartment complex that is mostly young families with small children. There really isn't a green space, no playground, and no real dedicated area for the kids to play. It's basically a little "concrete jungle." It's not really walkable to anything else, though there is a municipal bike trail behind the complex.
I see the kids out playing in the parking lot and can't help thinking they're a little deprived compared to how I grew up in a house with a large yard, and other kids in the neighborhood to play with in the yards. The space feels so confined and unnatural for a child. The apartments themselves aren't that big either.
Do you think raising kids in apartments is healthy? How do you compensate for the lack of space?
My son was raised in small apartments...He is now a PHD in Physics....didn't bother him...in fact he burned a hole in the carpet with his Bunsen Burner...the manager forgave us....AND ON THE OTHER HAND...a friend who just had to have a house for her son to grow up in and always commented about us living in an apartment..went bankrupt TWICE and her son is 20...no job...no motivation...play e XBox all night.....Totally depends on the upbringing...don't care if you are brought up in a dryer box......
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My son was raised in small apartments...He is now a PHD in Physics....didn't bother him...in fact he burned a hole in the carpet with his Bunsen Burner...the manager forgave us....AND ON THE OTHER HAND...a friend who just had to have a house for her son to grow up in and always commented about us living in an apartment..went bankrupt TWICE and her son is 20...no job...no motivation...play e XBox all night.....Totally depends on the upbringing...don't care if you are brought up in a dryer box......
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No it does not, it depends on the decisions made by the child after they are legally an adult and what their parents allow after the child is legally an adult.
Ted Bundy ended up being a serial killer yet he had every advantage a child would want/need. So using your logic it is his parents fault he became a serial killer, right?
In regards to your friend, she apparantly does not know how to appropriately handle finances which has nothing to do with where one lives, it has everything to do with the choices that are made in regards to money, even if you live for free in a dryer box.
My family of 4 lived in an apartment for 3 years when I was age 9-11.
It was an awesome place to live as a kid. There was a large playground in the middle of the complex and there was always something going on. We used to meet up there and run all around the complex playing and exploring. There were Halloween and Holiday parties at the clubhouse. There were large groups of kids walking to school together.
I actually have fond memories of the few years I lived there.
There are thousands of kids who grow up in complexes or even projects without much green space and turned out fine. It's kind of interesting that there is nothing though, where you live, not even a bball court? Maybe the parents can band togeher and do some city parks kind of thing, but of course they'll get outside time at school. But I agree with the poster above, even spaces that look boring, concrete jubgle to us look interesting to kids and their imaginations
We lived in apartments when our kids were small. The apartments we had were usually 900 or 1000 square feet. Our kids shared a bedroom...our oldest had a loft bed and her sister had a toddler bed that fit underneath the loft and still had plenty of room for play and storage. I took them to the park and the library all the time. We went on nature walks. There was a horse pasture behind the complex, and we'd take some carrots and apples and go feed the horses through the fence. The nice thing about the apartments was that the kids had tons of other kids to play with. In the afternoons, sometimes we'd have 7 or 8 kids hanging around with us, doing arts and crafts projects or baking cookies or just working on homework together. All the kids would play outside, so it was easy to meet up with their friends to play. I always sat outside and watched the kids play, and other moms would be doing the same thing. In the summer, we went swimming every day at the complex's pool.
We bought a house when our kids were 7 and 4. Each of the girls got her own bedroom, even though they still preferred to sleep in one room. Nobody plays outside in our neighborhood, and there aren't many moms who stay home who speak English, so I don't have a bunch of friends like I did in the apartment complex. We go to the park and we ride our bikes around the neighborhood. The city pool is a mile and a half away, so we walk there in the summer.
Socially, I think my kids were better off in the apartments. Safety wise, the house is better...the air conditioner always works, nobody burns down the apartment next to us or above us (both happened when we lived in apartments), we don't have problems with sewage backing up into the home like we did in the apartments, nobody is using drugs out in plain view in the neighborhood like they did in the apartment complex, nobody takes our stuff when we aren't home.
There are pros and cons to either situation. Having a house doesn't automatically make someone a better parent...I've known good parents and bad parents in both situations.
The apt I lived in had a large green space, but I took walks around the neighborhood with the kids. There's also parks, the beach, etc.
Growing up, my apt complex didn't have a grassy area, so we played hopscotch and four-square in the only driveway leading in and out of the complex. We played it nearly everyday. Memories...
Many kids grow up in apts and they turn out fine. I don't think it's size of the home matters, but the home life and how much time you spend with the kids.
I live in an apartment complex that is mostly young families with small children. There really isn't a green space, no playground, and no real dedicated area for the kids to play. It's basically a little "concrete jungle." It's not really walkable to anything else, though there is a municipal bike trail behind the complex.
I see the kids out playing in the parking lot and can't help thinking they're a little deprived compared to how I grew up in a house with a large yard, and other kids in the neighborhood to play with in the yards. The space feels so confined and unnatural for a child. The apartments themselves aren't that big either.
Do you think raising kids in apartments is healthy? How do you compensate for the lack of space?
You know there is an entire world outside of apartments, right? And not all apartments are the same. There is a huge park right across the street from me and another park a few blocks away. The families of the kids you see might drive them to the park regularly, to sporting events, etc.
In a lot of cities, kids might live in apartments but they often have access to other things that someone in the suburbs might not.
It's hard to miss somthing you never had. Kids raised in apartments are used to that life style and to them don't see it any worse then living anywhere else.
I work in factories. I started out in production. I then worked my way into skilled non production. I will never go back to production. When I only had production shop experience I didn't realize just how bad that job was untill I working in a skilled trade.
The only kids that might hate living in an apartment are the ones that had to move from a nice house into the apartments. That's my take on it. As long as there are other kids to play with then most kids are happy with that.
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