Kids Just Need to be Kids
Today in class we had a very interesting discussion about how our society has changed in that growing up isn’t the same as it used to be. I never really gave this much thought but really it’s so true. I remember when I was younger and could play in my neighborhood without my parent’s right on my back. I played tag and all sorts of games that me and my friends thought up when we were little. Although this was the case when I had free time, I also was part of the movement of scheduling activities. I did dance gymnastics and played sports such as basketball, volleyball, and soccer. These were all things that were run by adults and all had set times throughout the week to meet. I still was able to play with my friends and go outside. It seems that the biggest reason kids aren’t going outside as much is because of technology. Kids are spending hours watching TV, chatting on the internet, and talking or texting on their cell phones. When I was younger we only had TV’s. Also another thing that is hold kids back from being kids are parents being overprotective. Because we have so much awareness as to the things that are going on in the world it makes people fear the worst. Parents want to shelter their children so they can rest easy. But is that helping or hurting them? Honestly I think it is hurting them more then anything because they don’t have a chance to really grow up and learn and experience things on their own. Kids just need to be kids.
April 11th, 2007 at 9:18 pm
I have to say that I left last class feeling a little bummed about the state of affairs in our society. We know how quickly technology changes and evolves, but I found it interesting to really look at how much has changed in the short time since we’ve been kids. When I was growing up the internet was never something I was interested in looking at and the only music I really listened to was in the car, at my house, or a friend’s house — it wasn’t as much of an individual experience until I was older. I have to say that I’m glad the internet wasn’t as prevalent when I was growing up because I use it so often now and I can’t imagine how much I might’ve used it then had I had the option or if I was growing up during this generation.
Some of my hopes in childhood experiences were restored today however. I was walking on Madison Ave. and there were two kids playing jump rope. One end of the rope was tied to part of the porch and one of the kids stood at the other end to twirl it as the other jumped. Apparently there still is some creativity and ingenuity left in the younger generations! It’s also a lot of schools’ spring breaks and I saw many kids playing basketball and other sports in the park so it’s nice to know they weren’t all sitting inside watching TV or chatting with friends on the internet. Maybe there still is hope!