Vanishing Chrildren on Christmas!

[shiloh_f2hunter]

I have a wii myself!

 

[EDDE]

As I walked out from my warm house Christmas morning I peered up and down my street. No one was to be seen. I looked at my watch to see it was only around 8:45am. So I thought to myself, Maybe everyone is still opening presents.

So I walk back out around 10:00am, notta. Not a new scooter, skateboard, bicycle. There was not kid to be seen and I got depressed until my 4 year old started riding circles around me on his new bike.

Is it just me or have the video games almost taken over completely now? I figured out that all of my neighbors kids were playing rock band or some wii games. I am glad to have come from a generation where my mother would not let us come in until dinner. To vanish into the woods until dark, ride bikes for hours just to go no where.



Maybe one day I will understand. Until then I enjoy experiencing life firsthand without a controller.

good observation

 

[Mental Granny]

When you go out that door you cant come back in till supper and it gets dark, I was always out side back yards, bikes, only inside if it was weater related to make you stay in, the grandkids out while they can til its to cold!
But now days if they are out front a adult HAS to be out there too! But that rule started with my daughter when she was a kid se was skating on the sidewalk out front (my mother) was suposed to watch, but a guy tried to pick her up. No more skating unless Iwas home!

 

[greydigger]

Nice University of Oregon avatar there MG but I think the color is wrong, maybe my glasses.

I don't live where there are many sidewalks and my kids and grandkids don't have skates
but I would think a kick would hurt.

In the 1950s I was very young and still would walk the streets in Los Angeles.
I remember a biker house where they had custom Harley Davidsons and another place where custom hot rods were painted and was welcomed to watch if I didn't get in the way.
That world is gone and seems never to come back.
Mayberry was not just in Arkansas but in major cities then. ( I don't mean to put down anyone ).
50 some years later kids still need to know how to protect themselves.
Maybe the percentage of bad guys is the same but we have more people.
It is sad that kids cannot roam like we did in the last century. Cannot see first hand what the world is like.
Early 1960s I heard the Watts riots when I was outside. I used to walk the streets with not a care in the world, singing.
(We were close). and saw some stuff on our B+W TV. I was shocked.
The beginning of awareness.
I love my kids and grandkids so I do supervise them or have someone I trust do that.
I think the point is we are not where we once were and farming out supervision of outdoor play is the norm.
They cannot explore in cities like before. Take kids camping, fishing, hunting, and let them see the world.

Grey

 

[packerbacker]

You are right on grey. The keyword is "TAKE". Take them fishing, hunting, camping, horseback riding, etc. If they're out back making a snowman, join them. Having a strong adult partake in snowman building can result in a much wider and taller snowman. Result:Happy Kids! You can let a kid go fishing or, you can go fishing with the kid. Show them how to tie a few knots, bait the hook, set the hook and scream with excitement with them when they hook the big one.
This last New Years we all got together on one my son's property. There was a huge brush pile that had been getting piled up for some time just for the occasion. We lit the bonfire early in the evening and continued to feed the large fire from the brush pile. Slowly but surely all of the kids, ages 6 to 15, left the warmth of the house and the video games and joined us at the fire. Then the marshmallows came out and they all learned how to cook a delicious golden brown one instead of the charcoal black. As it neared midnight we broke out the signal flares. These aren't your little roadside flares, these are some very bright handheld flares and some airborne flares that are used for signaling distress on the ocean. They go up like a rocket, ignite into a very bright, red flare and come down on a parachute. It was kind of foggy and very low clouds. When the flares ignited it lit up the entire sky red for as far as you could see. The kids loved it!
A little later, one of the kids, a boy about 14 or 15 that was visiting, walked over to us and said that this was the best New Years he had ever had. I said "Really". He said yes, that usually he just sits at home with his parents and watches the ball drop on TV. I told him that everyone celebrates in their own way and you can't always go crazy on New Years. I told him that no matter how he celebrated I hoped he had a Happy New Year. He had seen all of the family members hugging each other around midnight. To my surprise he walked over to me and said "Happy New Year to you too" and he gave me a hug. He then continued to hug others that were around us. I think we all left the fire around 2:30am.
We have started to get together again on Fri. or Sat. evenings for games like Pictionary and Balderdash (sp?) The kids enjoy that also. I see I got a little carried away with my response but I wanted to emphasise the importance of joining the kids once in a while. It can make a big difference.

 

[greydigger]

Packerbacker you are right.
When I first took my kids fishing I never got a line in the water.
I was kinda bummed because I had to hepl each one with everything and I couldn't fish.
But that's what Dads do. We They had fun and now that they are grown we still fish.
To raise kids makes you immortal.

Grey

 

[Old Dog]

Packerbacker you are right.
When I first took my kids fishing I never got a line in the water.
I was kinda bummed because I had to hepl each one with everything and I couldn't fish.
But that's what Dads do. We They had fun and now that they are grown we still fish.
To raise kids makes you immortal.

Grey

Grey,
I find that I must agree,
My 5 yr old daughter comes to mind and many fishing trips we took where she must have caught the same bluegill 60 times.
There isn't a much bigger reward in this life than sharing the early years with them.
catching a fish is sometimes just a bonus. LOL
"Oh no Dad, he's way too small. Let him go"
teaches me patience and her a set of values.

She still misses the fishing trips,
and I think the time together.
I know I do.

Thom