Anyone remember the days when suburban neighborhood streets would have packs of children playing outdoor from about 3pm until that magical time that the street lights came on? Maybe i'm dating myself (Hmmm, dating myself? Sounds kinda nice! I digress...) but when I was a kid, which really wasn't THAT long ago, that was just a normal occurrence. In my neighborhood, kids had bikes, scooters, skateboards and lots of other things that only made sense to play with outdoors. Funny thing is that we also had video games, books, Barbies & G.I. Joes, Power Ranger action figures, Play Doh and plenty of other things that we could have enjoyed indoors. Even with all those super cool things, we still chose to be outside with our friends doing physical stuff like climbing trees, jumping rope, having skateboard races and even getting into the occasional disagreement which may or may not have escalated into a fight. We had tons of fun and turned out fine. Well, most of us did. I don't know about you, but i'm pretty awesome.
Nowadays, the only time I see kids outside (aside from the foreign family down the block) is when they are going to or from their mommy's oversized SUV to be carted to school 3 blocks away. (What happened to walking to the bus stop? Hello exercise!) It's cool that parents want to make life easier for their kids and all but it kinda seems like things are too easy and kids are being done a disservice. I know the world has changed and no, i'm not a parent but these are some of the things I think are necessary to develop well rounded people:
-Interaction with peers without adult interference
Notice it says interference, not supervision. You still gotta watch your kids folks! My point is that sometimes kids need to figure out their own issues. When I was younger and two people wanted to be the same color Power Ranger, we argued "Nuh-uh, you were blue last time! It's my turn!" or we used our own little baby brains to decide using either Paper-Rock-Scissors or some form of Eenie Meanie/Bubble Gum. Sometimes a little conflict is good! Let the kids develop their own problem solving skills or they will forever be socially deficient. Just check on them occasionally to make sure that everyone is accounted for.
-Electronics need a cut off time
Playing video games, computer games or watching television should not be the only entertainment a child has. For the most part, I think they make people dumb; both adults and kids. I get that everyone is busy but don't use the idiot box as a babysitter and wonder why your kid brings down the average score for standardized testing. Just because your kid might watch some specific kid show doesn't always mean that they are learning, it just means the plot (or lack thereof) is simple enough for a 12 month old to follow. I'm not saying these are completely terrible things because love my Wii and I keep up with The Kardashians. What I am saying is that spending too much time on these take away from the time that could be spent talking or playing with anyone other oneself.
-Work for what you want
When I was little, I didn't get a weekly allowance. If I wanted something extra, I had to do something extra. Just like adults wanting a raise at work, you're gonna have to take on more responsibilities or at least prove why you deserve more. Giving kids everything they want under the guise of wanting them to have what you didn't have is perpetuating the cycle of entitled human beings. Don't contribute to the the madness, just don't do it!
-Be an adult, not a kid's best friend
It's nice to be a good person that kids feel comfortable talking to, it's not so nice when those little boogers forget that they are the child that runs nothing. Like I said, i'm not a parent but I do know how to draw the line with kids. I spend plenty of time with my cousin's kids who think of me as the fun cousin. I put them on my shoulders, draw on the sidewalk with chalk with them, read to and with them, make cookies with them and tons of other fun things. I'm also the disciplinarian cousin with the pimp hand. I also fuss at them for standing on the couch with shoes on, throwing toys or tantrums, jumping off the stairs and lots of other things that children under the age of eight like to get into. They tell me jokes when they're happy, they come to me for a hug when they're sad. The best part is that they know that I know when they have done something wrong and that some form of punishment is coming. Even after that, they still hug me and kiss me and tell me they love me before we part ways because everyone knows that it comes from a place of love.
These are just a few things that get to me about today's kids and i'm sure i'll think of more just as soon as I post this. Honestly, if people thought more about the effect their actions have on the tiny humans of the world and what that means for our future, I think we'd be okay. So, think about the future rather than just saying that you think about the future.
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