"You kids go outside and play!" (2014, friends, chores)
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I heard that practically every day when I was a kid.
I'm talking about from about age 3 until I was doing homework every day, probably junior high.
Most of the kids were outside, and most of the time.
I wonder what it's done to our kids' psyches, being indoors all the time, not being able to wander around. I hardly ever see 8 or 10-year-olds outside playing Kick the Can, or riding their bikes in a bunch.
My grandchildren play outside all the time. Now they don’t roam the neighborhood like we did, but they go to a friends house or their friends come to their house. Their parents don’t allow video games and greatly limit their tv time. Also, no phones or tablets.
We were told the same thing and, even in Alaska, spent most of our time outside. However, looking back we were very lucky. We could have died several times. Skating on a thawing gravel pit, falling in the local creek, being stomped on by a moose or bear, and so on. BUT, most of us survived as did our Mom. Four kids in a 900 sq. foot house does make life difficult.
Because we played out all day, we learned life skills and quickly knew what was dangerous and what/where to avoid. Did accidents happen? Sure, but we survived.....without the helicopter parenting!
No one had to tell us kids to go outside to play. After skool we were outside and only told "be home at dark". On Saturdays after chores, gone.
Ditto. I know it's now a cliche but we had to be home by the time the street lights came on. Funny how I never knew even one kid who ever got seriously hurt. I think in some ways it's just natural to let kids of appropriate age play outdoors and be on their own for a while to explore and learn lessons between themselves and their friends. I don't think you can get that from a video game, but what do I know
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Quote:
Originally Posted by margaretBartle
I heard that practically every day when I was a kid.
I'm talking about from about age 3 until I was doing homework every day, probably junior high.
Most of the kids were outside, and most of the time.
I wonder what it's done to our kids' psyches, being indoors all the time, not being able to wander around. I hardly ever see 8 or 10-year-olds outside playing Kick the Can, or riding their bikes in a bunch.
I wish we had heard that. All we heard was "quit playing and get back to work". We did cleaning, watering the garden, pruning and spraying fruit trees, waxing floors, taking out the garbage, and passing tools to our father when he fixed the car or an appliance.
Today, in our neighborhood we see kids outside playing all the time. On the cul de sac across from us there are 6-10 kids playing every day after school, and most days 3-4 boys are riding bikes, scooters or skateboards up and down the street. Next door the two kids have others over often to play in their back yard, with a trampoline and badminton setup,. I think many parents have good controls over their kids' screen time.
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