posted on Nov, 18 2008 @ 08:37 PM
I didn't think so many would reply to a thread like this, it was just a thought that hit me while observing the kids in the buildings I manage.
I read through every response and assigned a positive and negative to each remark to get a feel for the mood of everyone's replies. Though many
replies warmed my heart to see that some kids still get out there and have fun outside with their friends.
Sadly, negative remarks of fear and trepidation outnumbered positive remarks by almost 2 to 1. Fear seems to pervade our society in the fact that the
media has poisoned the minds of parents and they live in fear of having their children out of sight for even a minute. Hell, some parents are putting
tacking devices on the little ones and teens have phones and cars tracked by parents when they go out.
I think a general consensus is that TV, video games and the internet have become the babysitters for busy parents. :shk:
Pull the plug on the electronics. Give the kids some wood, nails and a hammer, then set them loose to build a fort. Yes they might hurt themselves,
but those injuries are part of growing up and we shouldn't wrap them in suffocating cotton swaddling for our own peace of mind. Or why not pull out a
board game and sit down as a family and enjoy each others company.
I must say though, many of you have given me hope for our future generation and I've enjoyed the stories from everyone's past adventures.
Edit: I just have to add a story about my dad.
We had a boarded up school at the top of our street that hadn't been open for years. Some of us kids would use a loose board on a window in the
back and hang out there. We were probably all between 10 - 15 years old and it was our secret place, complete with library books and desks still in
the classrooms.
One day when we were in the school we could hear dad calling my sister and my brother and me.
HE WAS MAD!!!
We climbed out the back window expecting a whipping, but no, he put us in the car and drove us all the way to the Duncan RCMP Station.
Dad sat outside in the car and us kids had to walk into the station and ask an officer if he could tell us the laws on "Breaking and Entering".
We were all between the ages of 9 -13.
My brother was crying when the officer showed us what the cells looked like, and he read through the penalties of B&E and seriously explained them to
us.
Dad never spoke about the incident again, and there was no other punishment.
But we sure learned our lesson.
[edit on 18/11/2008 by anxietydisorder]