What's that saying? "You can never go back"?

[CatWoman]

for 2 straight days I haven't seen any kids on playing in the streets.

when I was a kid, the day after Christmas, all you saw were kids playing and showing off their gifts.

everyone was riding bikes or skating. Interacting and getting plenty of exercise.

I saw one girl yesterday walking her dog.

has happened to us?

[badtoworse]

1. We didn't have virtual reality growing up.

Video games, Facebook, Twitter, etc. aren't condusive to kids being outside and being physically active.

[CatWoman]

2. we need that back

[badtoworse]

6. Couldn't agree more.

I had 4 or 5 good friends growing up and I saw them almost every day. We played touch football, baseball, stickball, etc. We did lots of other things together and sometimes got into trouble, but everything was real. It was way better than friendships that are conducted on social media.

[jeff47]

4. We also didn't have parents obsessing about Amber alerts and other rare dangers.

We played in the streets because our parents were not constantly terrified by stories of "predators" out to get us.

That isn't he case today. So the kids turn to virtual worlds because that's all their parents let them play in.

Think about the horrified reaction to the reporter letting her kid ride the NY subway alone.

[badtoworse]

7. I took the subway to school from Queens to Manhattan when I was 13

After school, I'd disappear for hours with my friends and my folks thought that was completely normal

[jeff47]

11. And today, your parents would take a mountain of shit and get CPS called.

Just like what happened to that reporter.

Another example:
My sister lives on a cul-de-sac with 2 other houses on it. All the neighbor kids play in that cul-de-sac because there's tons of room and no traffic.

None of the neighbors will let their kids play there unless they are watching. They think it's really weird my sister and bro-in-law let their kids play directly in front of their house on a cul-de-sac with virtually no traffic without supervision. And supervision by some other parent is not enough for these "concerned" parents.

It's not the kids today. It's the parents today.

[badtoworse]

15. I think you have a point

When I was 18, two of my friends and I drove 60 miles from Flushing to Moriches Bay on Long Island, rented a boat and motor, and spent the day flounder fishing. We caught a load of fish, filleted 'em and my mother cooked us a fish fry when we got back.

At 18, you're not a kid anymore, but how many parents today would encourage that? Mine did and I'm thankful for it.

No way I'd trade the upbringing I had for what kids have today.

[jeff47]

3. Well, how many kids are in your neighborhood?

Mine has my two, and the neighbor's one. The rest of the neighborhood has no children below high school age.

[CatWoman]

5. plenty

they are all over the place in the summer

[Mariana]

20. All over the place doing what in the summer? nt.

Edited for clarity.

[CatWoman]

24. playing outside

[Egalitarian Thug]

8. Consolidation and isolation. We're supposed to fear each other more than we fear them.

So far, it's been very effective.

[cynatnite]

9. My kid has been carrying his new gadgets and games to his friends' houses...

He walks because they're not far off.

Not only that, it's pretty cold right now around here. Playing outside for any length of time is not recommended.

[CatWoman]

12. i'm in Atlanta

and grew up in both Virginia and Brooklyn.

the cold isn't an issue here.

and it wasn't an issue growing up.

[cynatnite]

13. Maybe it's your upbringing...

You were allowed to play in the cold and other kids with you.

During my childhood when it was too cold we didn't play outside. We weren't allowed to.

Right now, I wouldn't let any of my grandchildren or my son play outside. We've got three family members down with strep throat on top of the cold.

If it wasn't in the 30's here, yeah, I'd let them play out if they wanted to.

Also, times have changed. Kids get PS3s, Xbox's, and tablets. What they're playing with now and what they're playing with then are completely different.

Times changing is not a bad thing.

Not only that, I don't expect parents to want to send their kids out in the cold to play...especially if the kids DON'T want to play in the cold.

It's not really a big deal at all.

on edit: If there were an inch of snow on the ground...yeah, we couldn't open the door fast enough for them. No snow here.

[Skittles]

28. LOL

yeah, cold weather stopped us from playing outside.......NOT!!!

(me and my brother)

[cynatnite]

29. If we had any snow on the ground nothing would've kept him from outside. :) n/t

[Lifelong Dem]

10. I remember when I was a kid in the 60's of

not being able to play outside in the streets because of 2 feet of snow. Unless I got a sled for Christmas, but I know what you're saying. Most kids today it doesn't matter the conditions outside because of high tech toys.

[jeff47]

14. It's not the kids today. It's the parents today.

Today's parents won't let their kids play outside unless they are supervised. And usually some other parent is not sufficient - they have to be supervised by the parent.

The kids would love to keep doing what kids have always done. Their parents won't let them.

[cynatnite]

16. You are right...

One of my school friends was kidnapped, raped and murdered when we were 12 years old. I lived in Oklahoma City at the time. This was in the 70s.

So, I never liked my kids playing outside without me with them or at least watching constantly from the window. Now that I have grandchildren, it's still there. The fear never left after all these years.

[jeff47]

17. And has horrible as that was

it was a rare case, and it's much more rare today.

But today's parents act as if that horrible situation happens every single day.

My kids are 2 and under, and I already get shit from other parents for letting them play in another room in my own house.

[cynatnite]

18. Well, it actually does happen every day...more than once...

On average it's 13 young people between the ages of 10-24. That's firearms and other methods of killing.

Parents have every right to fear for their children in our violent society. It's how far they go in protecting that's in question.

Our children are still being slaughtered at disturbing levels. Newtown wasn't that long ago.

[jeff47]

23. No, it's an example of the wrong thing to fear.

First, the majority deaths in your statistic is over 18 - that's why they ran the number up to 24.

Second, there are 74 million people in the US under 18. Even if we pretend those 13 are all under 18, that's 0.0000176%. 0.006% per year. You know what kills many, many, many more kids? Cars. Yet parents don't feel the slightest qualm about driving their kids around.

And that's pretending that all those shootings are committed by strangers. The vast, vast, vast majority of under-18 shooting victims were shot by someone they knew.

But it makes the news, so people fear it.

[kcr]

26. The media distorts our perception

and makes it hard for us to judge risk accurately.

[Warpy]

19. Video games.

When they get bored with the video games, they will ride their bikes if they have them.

[kcr]

25. That's a bit part of it.

Though when I was a kid video games were becoming pretty popular, and I still have memories of the new bikes and roller skates on Christmas day. I wonder if part of it is the media scare pushing kids indoors. I don't think we were ever the same after the Adam Walsh case and the huge media attention it received.

[CatWoman]

22. word

[merrily]

27. TV and other technological advances that we do not always use wisely.