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Washington, DC suburbs in Maryland Calvert County, Charles County, Montgomery County, and Prince George's County
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Old 01-07-2012, 08:11 AM
 
373 posts, read 866,579 times
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I took my kids to Chuck E. Cheese's in Waldorf a while back and a fight broke out between teenagers. Police arrived and handcuffs were broken out. I stated jokingly that I had no idea why teenagers were hanging out at Chuck E. Cheese's in the first place. Someone responded that it was because there was nothing to do in Waldorf. Growing up in Charles County, I hear people say this all the time, but I don't understand what they mean. Waldorf has a mall, skating rink(s), parks, restaurants, nearby batting cage and minature golf course. When people say there is nothing for teens to do in Waldorf (or the many other places in the world where people say there is nothing for teens to do), what specifically do other places have that is missing in Waldorf or the generic teen-unfriendly town?
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Old 01-07-2012, 01:15 PM
 
Location: Fort Worth, TX
9,394 posts, read 15,645,673 times
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I'm not sure either. As a teen in high school my friends and I did the following:

Walked around DC
Went to the movies
Played video games at Best Buy
Played video games at someone's house
Ate
Played airsoft
Rented movies to watch
Late-night 1AM runs to 7-Eleven for energy drinks and cigarettes
Aimless drives once one of us got a car (and the one time we went on a joy ride in a friend's mom's Mini Cooper S... hehe)
Making dumb videos of dumb behavior
Drinking on weekend nights when someone's folks were out of town
etc

Somehow we stayed out of trouble save for the one time the police caught us with marijuana. I don't really buy the whole "the youth just need something to do" argument, unless you live in cow town there's usually plenty to do.
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Old 01-07-2012, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Prince George's county
46 posts, read 65,095 times
Reputation: 53
Quote:
Originally Posted by spleuchan View Post
Waldorf has a mall, skating rink(s), parks, restaurants, nearby batting cage and minature golf course. When people say there is nothing for teens to do in Waldorf (or the many other places in the world where people say there is nothing for teens to do), what specifically do other places have that is missing in Waldorf or the generic teen-unfriendly town?
I find it interesting that given all the things that you say are in Waldorf and Charles County, someone would say there's nothing for teens to do in Charles county. It seems that no one wants to make teens accountable for controlling their own behavior. Honestly, I grew up in a lower class area with skating rinks (ice and roller), playing fields and basketball courts and I never wanted for "something to do." I played sports, rode my bike and played video games at mine or my friends' houses.

Looks like these kids just need to get back to some of the simpler things.
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Old 01-07-2012, 02:53 PM
 
Location: D.C. all day
12 posts, read 38,235 times
Reputation: 12
This would all change if:

A. A light rail gets built to connect from Waldorf to Branch ave metro station.
B. Extend the green line itself to Waldorf
C. Have a bus that connects Charles county to Branch ave station that runs on a regular basis.
I mean how the hell does Germantown have buses that connect to the metro 7 days a week but Charles county doesn't and Germantown is farther.
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Old 01-07-2012, 03:03 PM
 
Location: Prince George's county
46 posts, read 65,095 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vasquez 202 View Post
This would all change if:

A. A light rail gets built to connect from Waldorf to Branch ave metro station.
B. Extend the green line itself to Waldorf
C. Have a bus that connects Charles county to Branch ave station that runs on a regular basis.
I mean how the hell does Germantown have buses that connect to the metro 7 days a week but Charles county doesn't and Germantown is farther.
No offense, but I'm not sure I see how this gives the teens things to do. It allows them to travel further away, but the OP points to a lot of options they already have within Waldorf and the county.
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Old 01-07-2012, 03:24 PM
 
Location: DMV
10,125 posts, read 13,920,336 times
Reputation: 3222
Quote:
Originally Posted by spleuchan View Post
I took my kids to Chuck E. Cheese's in Waldorf a while back and a fight broke out between teenagers. Police arrived and handcuffs were broken out. I stated jokingly that I had no idea why teenagers were hanging out at Chuck E. Cheese's in the first place. Someone responded that it was because there was nothing to do in Waldorf. Growing up in Charles County, I hear people say this all the time, but I don't understand what they mean. Waldorf has a mall, skating rink(s), parks, restaurants, nearby batting cage and minature golf course. When people say there is nothing for teens to do in Waldorf (or the many other places in the world where people say there is nothing for teens to do), what specifically do other places have that is missing in Waldorf or the generic teen-unfriendly town?
Well the reason why I said it is because most teenagers even as I was going up wouldn't do most of the things you listed. I used to go high school right down the road from Waldorf and anytime we got out of school, the only thing we would do is go to Waldorf to get something to eat or go to the mall. Most teens like to stand around and profile. That is reason why St.Charles Mall become infested with teens. The problem is, for long time Waldorf became so isolated that it was the place teenagers could go and so things got boring going to the same place doing the same thing. Teenagers in Bowie, for example, can go to Annapolis, or Largo, or Laurel. Where else can Waldorf teenagers go to something different?
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Old 01-07-2012, 03:59 PM
 
2,366 posts, read 2,626,404 times
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Maybe parents should give their kids something to do

You go to the movie theaters to watch a movie
You go to the skating rink to skate
You go to the mall to shop
You go to the park for recreation
You go to the restaurant to eat
You go to the golf course to golf
You go to the batting cage to swing at a baseball using a bat

You ask yourself, how is it possible for people to get into trouble?

Starting silly fights with people is boring and uninteresting....."you bump into me, I'm going to fight you"

At some points, parents need to take some responsibility for their poor excuse of parenting. They can't handle it, stay home, do your homework, do extra curricular activities, read a book, watch tv, play Xbox, wash dishes, take out the trash, mop the kitchen floor, I don't care...there's no reason for a kid to not having nothing to do.
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Old 01-07-2012, 04:06 PM
 
373 posts, read 866,579 times
Reputation: 180
Quote:
Originally Posted by meatkins View Post
Well the reason why I said it is because most teenagers even as I was going up wouldn't do most of the things you listed. I used to go high school right down the road from Waldorf and anytime we got out of school, the only thing we would do is go to Waldorf to get something to eat or go to the mall. Most teens like to stand around and profile. That is reason why St.Charles Mall become infested with teens. The problem is, for long time Waldorf became so isolated that it was the place teenagers could go and so things got boring going to the same place doing the same thing. Teenagers in Bowie, for example, can go to Annapolis, or Largo, or Laurel. Where else can Waldorf teenagers go to something different?
It's not that Waldorf is on some island. All those places are about 40-50 minutes from Waldorf. The metro is 20 minutes away and DC is 40 minutes away.

But my question was what things does Annapolis, Largo, or Laurel have for teens that Waldorf doesn't?
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Old 01-07-2012, 05:33 PM
 
2,366 posts, read 2,626,404 times
Reputation: 1788
Quote:
Originally Posted by spleuchan View Post
It's not that Waldorf is on some island. All those places are about 40-50 minutes from Waldorf. The metro is 20 minutes away and DC is 40 minutes away.

But my question was what things does Annapolis, Largo, or Laurel have for teens that Waldorf doesn't?
Other than interacting with new people or scenery..........nothing but I still don't see how its possible to create an altercation with another if they go to a place for the purpose of its existence. With young people, it's usually something petty. As far as I know, young people can go to other place and likely do the same thing.
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Old 01-07-2012, 07:30 PM
 
Location: DMV
10,125 posts, read 13,920,336 times
Reputation: 3222
Quote:
Originally Posted by spleuchan View Post
It's not that Waldorf is on some island. All those places are about 40-50 minutes from Waldorf. The metro is 20 minutes away and DC is 40 minutes away.

But my question was what things does Annapolis, Largo, or Laurel have for teens that Waldorf doesn't?
Okay but if you have a child 13-15 years old, how many of them do you think can drive there themselves? Parents aren't as likely to drive their kids that far just to drop them off and then have to pick them up later. Waldorf is still much further away. Annapolis, Largo and Laurel are all within 10 minutes of Bowie. Huge difference.

Those places have malls and movie theaters. I think you missed my point about those places though. It's not that those places are different than Waldorf but it's just there is variety. Does La Plata have a mall and movie theater? theater? Brandywine will get their theater soon. Kids get bored going to the same places every weekend.

Last edited by justtitans; 01-07-2012 at 07:50 PM..
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