We live in a total bubble. Gated community, private school across the street, country club with kids club, splash pad, several outdoor playgrounds. So much better for kids than living in a penthouse without a garden (although with a roof terrace) in the center of a multimillion people city in Germany, where on top of everything else, the weather sucks for several months a year. It all depends on the circumstances, but while I wouldn't be worried about them playing in the driveway, we would still supervise them. Although we are in a cul-de-sac, service vehicles like the pool guys, deliveries, gardeners etc. come into the street, you just have to be careful. On another note, my kids still can't ride a bike without training wheels (7 and 4). I tried, but I get very exhausted running with them and holding them in the heat here. And the bike seems very heavy and hard to steer. I keep getting ads for "Guardian Bikes", but someone else recommended "Woom bikes". Any recommendations which ones are best? Thanks.
I remember when I was around 8-10, I wasn't allowed to go further than the same street on my bike. By the time I was 10, I was riding around the subdivision looking to play football and basketball with kids from the area. Then, when I was around 11 or 12 (I think), I got busted for riding my bike outside the subdivision and going to Walgreen's for comic books with a friend (he dragged me there then lied and said I dragged him there... lol). Around 18 or 19, I was riding about 11-12 miles on Main Street's gravel shoulder to play basketball with my cousin in 95+ heat. I was dead by the time I got home but what a way to lose weight. lol. It always cracks me up watching old episodes of Andy Griffith that they've got Opie wandering around the entire countryside, the town, abandoned mines, etc. by himself. They even have Leon (Ron Howard's real-life brother) wandering the town always eating a PB&J wearing cowboy gear, but no parents in sight. He looked to be around 4 or 5 years old. I always wondered if that kid was a mute orphan who was roughing it or what. Of course this was all in the country and with a lot of friends from the country, I know they sure as hell weren't as protected like I was, and faaaar less protected than many kids of today. One of my friends grew up in Montana and when I told him I saw some kid that looked to be 10-12 years old riding a tractor in a field by my house, he just shrugged and said that's what he used to do. But then, I've always thought that would be the best benefit of having kids - cheap labor. Them country boys know what's up. Things are different nowadays. Society is a bit different. Things change. But also, where you live matters.
When I was a kid, we were out all day and on our own. I had 2 other siblings, and there were 2 friends that we always played with. A band of 5. I came extremely close to getting bit by a water moccasin about a mile from the nearest adult once. Another time, three of us got lost in the woods for 14 hours. We found our way to a house, about 5 miles from home, just as it was getting super dark. They were about to go look for us on horseback. Oh, and it was opening weekend of deer season. I was in second grade when both of these happened. Fast forward to today... I have a 5 and 2 year old. We own about 16 acres, but we're the only house for a out 100 acres or so. As they get older, they'll have more and more freedom on this land. They like to go outside and play. We like to try and give them freedom. It's hard to though, right now, because our house is 100 yards off a state road with a 55 mph speed limit and there is a lake that covers about 12 acres of water about 100 yards out the back door. I've seen the aftermath of kids being left unattended around water. Not good. I'm not concerned about other things that city parents would be, like abductions and whatnot - those are extremely valid concerns, in some places. I'm just more concerned about them getting hurt for now. Trying to strike the proper balance here...
Millennials were the death of "free-range" kids. Gen X'ers were the last to go out and play all day, unsupervised. Hell, it is a miracle we made it home every night...LOL. We were latchkey kids and raised ourselves after school. Gen Xers were tougher. However, Society told Gen Xers how they were raised was wrong and you had to coddle children. Millennials were raised that you had to be protected and the world is always dangerous.
I have no recollection of being supervised when I played outside in my neighborhood or yard. But then again I had an older brother. I have two kids now and let my 5 year old go outside unsupervised regularly. As soon as I knew he was good on watching for cars and understood where his free roam boundaries were, I was fine with it. Thankfully he is often accompanied by older kids in the neighborhood whom I trust. Lots of my peers think I'm weird but I live in a very helicopter parent area. I plan on letting my kids roam (if not forcing them to) until the street lights come on, just like I did.
We did anything we wanted to do when we were kids. Several near death experiences. Swimming in creeks, playing on railroad trestles, climbing all over half built homes. You name it, we did it. It was awesome. Remember the movie “Stand by me?” That was basically me growing up. We were armed with BB guns and knives when we were elementary school age. Our parents wanted us out of the house. What a time to be an alive. Nowadays, social media and 24 hour news has made parents paranoid as hell. The kids on my block don’t even own bikes and are NEVER allowed out of the house. I guess all they do is play video games and text each other. Very sad.
Yeah, it's part of what drew me to the house. There's a produce farm of one side that take up about 40 acres, and then the township owns about 40 acres on the other side. That's posted no trespassing, but we have deeded rights to enter, though nobody pays attention anyways. We can also pick whatever we want from the farm. It's awesome. Can't imagine a much cooler way to grow up, if I was a kid.
What worked for me, and this was at my breaking point, was just taking off the pedals AND the training wheels, putting the seat to the right level (basically hip level so toes just barely touch) and had him go back and forth until he could balance. Once balancing came, I put the pedals back on and he got it after two tries. But my god did I get so mad at his lack of desire to even learn. When I was a kid, I wanted to learn so badly. But then again I was a poor latch key and he is spoiled rich boy.
I grew up playing outside a lot. When I was home, I was usually at my friend's house across the street playing tee ball, basketball, or whatever else. I do remember when I was five another friend from a few houses down and I use to go around the neighborhood on our books. We wouldn't go too far, but that **** was always fun. When I would go stay over at my cousin's we always use to roam further away from the house since my cousins were older. Those neighborhoods had gangs though so once in a while we had to deal with being bullied. Overall though, I hope my daughter can have the same experience.
It’s just different times,..As a kid I was living in Huntsville in the 80s and I used to go snake hunting, riding go carts and going into the woods on imaginary adventures with friends ..it’s amazing I didn’t die in the national forest -things I would never let my kids do, I am way more overprotective than I probably should be. It’s weird how different I ended up
AS a gen x kid we hit the road on our bikes when we woke up and we might come home for lunch then we were back out again until sunset.
Now that's the kind of house/property that could be fun. My friend grew up on 100 acres that her parents just sold a ton of. She was crying because the sale included the house she grew up on. Her dad is in his 70's now, I think, and basically designed/built the new house by himself (he used to build houses and do AC work in the past). There's something so awesome about having a house and a big chunk of land that you can work with vs. just a house. Along the same lines, be careful about abductions and stuff because the same friend grew up in NW Arkansas in a town of about 3000-4000 people where a fairly famous abduction of a child happened, and it took place at a pretty public baseball game. She hasn't been found. There was a Hulu documentary about it. Crazy people are everywhere.
but what’s the point of going outside when everything you need is at home? got the playstation on and instagram and tiktok lock and loaded.
You can do it as a side quest in video games like red dead redemption, but you may killed by a bear or cougar.
