s/o of the birthday party thread

[Pixiedust34]

Do kids nowadays play in the same manner as a generation or two ago?

I'm generalizing here, but overall I think that today's kids do not play as hard as or as long as kids in the past. I remember doing hours (and I mean hours) of tag, kickball, hide-and-seek, etc. with my cousins. It didn't take much to entertain us. We were happy playing all day, and coming home exhausted in a good way.

It seems that today's kids have less free time (more scheduled sports and other structured activities) and are more dependent on electronics for entertainment.

I know that kids do play outdoors, but it doesn't take long for them to turn to the video games instead of the outdoors, imaginative play, or an old fashioned board game.

Maybe I'm an old fuddy-duddy, but I love it when the kids play HARD with their imaginations and run all over the place having old-fashioned fun with a frisbee, a game of tag, or hide-and-seek. You know the way Andy and Bonnie play in TS3? Hours and hours of that is fantastic! : )

As a teacher, my dh hears kids say that "summer is boring" and that they have nothing to do all summer. I'm afraid that playing all day and using an imagination to play for hours is becoming a lost art. What do you think? Are kids today less active with creative and physical play than kids who grew up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s?

 

[kimblebee]

I agree that kids don't play like they used to but times have changed. When I was little I would leave the house in the morning and be home in time for supper. I went from yard to yard on my street playing with the different kids and didn't call my mom to say where I was. The other moms kept an eye on the visiting kids so there was no need to worry.

No way would I let my daughter walk out the door now without knowing where she is going and what time she will be back. I'm far from a helicoptor mom but I would worry if I hadn't seen her for a few hours and hadn't heard from her. She is 9 so I don't think it's unreasonable to want to know where she is.

 

[minkydog]

I dunno, I don't have really young kids anymore. My older two are 23 and 17. However, we didn't have a computer or video games until the oldest one was 15-16 and I never allowed them to watch TV until after 5pm. We homeschooled, so there were a lot of outdoor activities. My son loved to build things and dig. So we gave him a shovel, a box of nails, boards, and a hammer and let him happily whack away the afternoon. DD loved to make dolls an doll houses. All she needed was some chenielles, scraps of cloth, popsicle sticks and a box. Speaking of boxes, both my kids had a stove box hideout. We had tons of dress ups and craft materials. Our house was one of the few where the kids and their friends were allowed to play with playdoh, glitter and glue. They had a few friends who also weren't digitally plugged in and they would come over and play outside all day. Only when they hit their teens did they start to prefer being indoors. And even then, they both got into film-making so they spent their time writing screenplays and filming. My kids stopped asking for toys around the age of 8 and spent their pin money on craft supplies.

I know a lot of parents bemoan the fact that their kids just want to veg with the Xbox but I say, take away the electronics for a week and see if they don't figure out something to do.

 

[Christine]

I kind of thought about this too when I read that thread.

At those ages, we would have had cake and ice cream, played pin-the-tail-on-the donkey, water balloon toss or something like that and then we would have been left to hang out. And that was cool because we knew how to do that. Kids parties today are very structured and active.

 

[zoemurr]

it's the electronics.. I think that it is the fact that we don't let them go anywhere or do anything unsupervised.

When I was little we could go all day and play in the woods. Even if we were in my room my mom left us alone.

For whatever reason now we don't let them out of our sight. There isn't much time for them to come up with something elaborate 'cause it is always interrupted for something scheduled. Ever notice how in every book where the kid has a really cool adventure they don't have parents? I'm as guilty of this as anyone, but kids today really can't let go and be crazy 'cause we want to know what they are doing every second, and need to see them.

I think they also aren't very good problem solvers 'cause adults are always there to help.

 

[HelenePA]

I'm the OP of the other thread.. My kids are in the backyard playing as I type. They have the hose on and are running around playing. Mine hardly use the computer they go on in the morning (before I'm up) and watch tv at night right before bed. Inbetween its outside playing, sandbox, bikes, scooters, going to the park with friends, playing with their toys in the playroom, taking the dog for a walk. Annoying the cats. Playing ball with the dog. They play like the toy story movies They can make a game or toy out of anything. They never met a kid who was a stranger, they make friends very easily. They are like I was when I was a kid.

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

I'm part of the generation that was born in the mid-late 80s and early 90s. Sitting in front of a computer or a TV was pretty much unheard of. The only exception would be weekend morning cartoons.

I think it's sad that a lot of kids do things now that involves little activity, if any. Or they can't make up their own stuff to do, they need stuff (electronics especially) to keep them busy. It's no wonder this next generation has a lower life expectancy than their parents. DFiance and I have agreed that we will do anything in our power to not have overweight children. When they turn 18, they can sit on their behinds and eat a bunch of junk all they want but until then it'll limited treats and keeping active.

Our biggest game to play was kickball but we could only do it at school since we hardly ever had enough players to make a real game out of it.

A friend of mine does PE at one of the middle schools, he's done it for over 30 years now and it disgusts him at how many more kids every year can do less and less. More of them, than ever, struggle to run a mile. I remember in elementary school, a lot of my friends and I were constantly trying, and a lot of the time succeeding, in breaking the records for times.

 

[ilovejack02]

As a kid in early 80's i grew up hopping on my bike in the summer riding several blocks, grabbing a friend and then heading to the next house to grab another and so on. Packs of us would ride to park and play for hours, street lights came on and we all had to head home.

More parents work these days so more kids are in day care, where they have lots of organized activities . Parents are also to afraid to let the kiddos run like we all used to.

DS7 is good about playing with friends in back yard for hours on end with breaks to cool off and a bit of video game playing, but because we don't live in a area with lots of kids, all playdates have to be planned.

THings are quite different then when I was young.

 

[luvsJack]

It seems to vary from kid to kid.

My sons are grown, but when they were young they played all over the area with their cousins and other neighborhood kids. But, there was always that one that would come to visit and just wanted to stay in and play video games all day.

With dd, when she has company sometimes they spend hours outside playing basketball, catch, riding bikes or whatever (unlike her brothers though, they always stay in the yard); when other girls come over they want to spend all the time inside watching TV until I get enough and say "OK! Everybody OUT!" and send them outside to do something.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Do kids nowadays play in the same manner as a generation or two ago?

I'm generalizing here, but overall I think that today's kids do not play as hard as or as long as kids in the past. I remember doing hours (and I mean hours) of tag, kickball, hide-and-seek, etc. with my cousins. It didn't take much to entertain us. We were happy playing all day, and coming home exhausted in a good way.

It seems that today's kids have less free time (more scheduled sports and other structured activities) and are more dependent on electronics for entertainment.

I know that kids do play outdoors, but it doesn't take long for them to turn to the video games instead of the outdoors, imaginative play, or an old fashioned board game.

Maybe I'm an old fuddy-duddy, but I love it when the kids play HARD with their imaginations and run all over the place having old-fashioned fun with a frisbee, a game of tag, or hide-and-seek. You know the way Andy and Bonnie play in TS3? Hours and hours of that is fantastic! : )

As a teacher, my dh hears kids say that "summer is boring" and that they have nothing to do all summer. I'm afraid that playing all day and using an imagination to play for hours is becoming a lost art. What do you think? Are kids today less active with creative and physical play than kids who grew up in the 60s, 70s, and 80s?

Some kids do not seem to be able to entertain themselves.

Thank goodness the kids around here aren't like that. They run up and down the block looking for others to play with. (nope, the parents aren't calling around setting up play dates.) Then the groups run around from stoop to stoop playing and having a good time.

The parents are sitting on the stoop, in the front yard or in the house. None of the parents are out there organizing games, setting up rules...

 

[rie'smom]

I was a child of the 60's. My brothers played outside from the time they woke up until they were called in for lunch and then dinner at night. After both meals, they'd go out again until dark. I wasn't an outdoors person but I did read a lot. Sometimes, I'd ride my bike and go to friend's houses in the neighborhod. We had a pool, so my friends would come over and swim. We didn't watch much tv except for the horror movies that came on a 10pm on Friday and Saturday nights.
My kids played outside for the most part too. They played video games but not until dark when they had to come inside. It was not because my husband and I made them stay away from the games or tv, they just preferred being outside.

 

[ilovejack02]

Some kids do not seem to be able to entertain themselves.

Thank goodness the kids around here aren't like that. They run up and down the block looking for others to play with. (nope, the parents aren't calling around setting up play dates.) Then the groups run around from stoop to stoop playing and having a good time.

The parents are sitting on the stoop, in the front yard or in the house. None of the parents are out there organizing games, setting up rules...

Must be really nice to live in a neighborhood like that, unfortunately I live in the country three houses off of a busy highway. My kiddo can't run the streets , but it would be great if we lived in a neighborhood that he could.


When DS21 was young we lived in a subdivision like that. I would catch a glimpse of him playing with friends from time to time during day and he checked in at lunch and home for dinner. It is to bad my DS7 will miss out on that, but that is the price we are paying to be in an amazing school district .

 

[HelenePA]

Some kids do not seem to be able to entertain themselves.

Thank goodness the kids around here aren't like that. They run up and down the block looking for others to play with. (nope, the parents aren't calling around setting up play dates.) Then the groups run around from stoop to stoop playing and having a good time.

The parents are sitting on the stoop, in the front yard or in the house. None of the parents are out there organizing games, setting up rules...

I lived in a neighborhood like that! I wish my kids had other kids close to our house but they dont.. there are no other kids on my street AT ALL! Most of the people here are 70+ so even the grandkids are grown! Bday boy lives 2 blocks down. We pick him up when he's outside to go to the park with us or on doggy walks (like last night) We dont call for playdates its all by ear.

 

[Christine]

I lived in a neighborhood like that! I wish my kids had other kids close to our house but they dont.. there are no other kids on my street AT ALL! Most of the people here are 70+ so even the grandkids are grown! Bday boy lives 2 blocks down. We pick him up when he's outside to go to the park with us or on doggy walks (like last night) We dont call for playdates its all by ear.

When I moved into my neighborhood 15 years ago, I had a 3 y/o and a newborn. Even then, there were no kids. 15 years later, still no kids. Add to that, that my kids went to private school so even if there were one or two kids, they didn't know them. EVERYTHING my kids did for play had to be planned. It was such a change from my upbringing. My young playing years were the late 60s/early 70s and I grew up in an apartment complex which have huge lawns and was adjacent to woods and a creek. Starting at about 5 years old, I was outside from after breakfast until dinner. Tons of kids. We played in the creek, in the woods, and far from any supervision. Totally unheard of today at that age.

My kids probably wouldn't know what to do at a b-day party with no planned activities. They don't really know how to free-play. It has nothing to do with the X-Box. All their free time has been structured.

 

[golfgal]

Our kids have grown up with lots of neighbor kids all running around from house to house playing whatever. It seems like each house had a different game that was played there-our house was the kickball house. It was great.

Tomorrow we will have 13 kids ranging from age 3-17 for our annual 4th party. The kids have already planned out what they will do and we adults won't be involved in any entertainment at all. The kids typically play hide and seek, kick ball, have races, play this knife game, all kinds of things. They will be going hard from about 10:00 am to 9 PM or so.

 

[DisneyFirefly]

Not only does this vary from kid to kid, it varies from neighborhood to neighborhood. At home, we were allowed in the backyard whenever we wanted to go, and out in the front yard as long as we stayed between the driveway two doors south and the driveway two doors north. We were allowed to go to the park without a parent once my older brother turned 13, and only then. We made up games that kept us within those boundaries.

However, up at my grandmother's house, we had the run of the town. We usually wound up at the playlot at the school, but we could go wherever we wanted, because no matter where we went, we'd be back at Gramma's in five minutes on our bikes.

The difference was that at our house, we were in the middle of a not-so-good neighborhood on the north side of Chicago. It's gotten better, but back then, it wasn't. Even now, two weeks ago, there were 14 reports of gunfire in my neighborhood. My grandmother lived in a tiny town in Wisconsin with a population of 250 people. There was a huge difference between where we lived and where my grandmother lived.

 

[mhsjax]

My kids play outside during the summer, the only difference is that they start around 9:00 pm and come in around 10:30 pm. There are about 15 kids that come to our cul de sac to play.

The problem with the daytime play here is that I live in Florida, and it is way to hot to play outside all day long. It seem that we have at least 1 kid a year being rushed to the hospital during sports because the of the severe heat here.

Also in regard to kids going out and finding kids to play with during the summer, There are way more moms working now than when I grew up and most of the moms I know won't allow there kids to roam the neighborhood while they are at work, and they sure don't want the kids inside their houses while they aren't there.

I really don't think you can compare when most of us grew up to today. Time are totally different. Lots of thing were different, we had only 4 channels, we didn't have remote controls. We didn't have home computers. Times change and so do kids. My daughter has 4-6 hours every week of cheer and tumbling, that doesn't include play time with friends. DS has 7 hours Tae Kwon Do. Other DS is non stop in other organized sports. When I was their age, there wasn't as many organized sports. It doesn't bother me, as long as they get some activity I don't care what they do, organized or not.

Also, there have been various thread on neighbors and are you friends type of things through the years. If you read these, so many people just don't have the desire to become friends with other people in their neighborhood. I think it flows down to the kids, if the parents can't be bothered to be neighborly, then why should the kids get involved with others in the neighborhood. You can't have it both ways.

I am in a pretty old fashioned one, we are all friends, the kids roam around and pick up other kids to play with, in fact as I type this, kids are forming outside right now. It all depends on what type of neighborhood you live in. I don't think people are as social as they once where, maybe that is where the kids are getting their clues form. JMHO

 

[lizbaby007]

Another kid from the 80's I was on my bike and cruising the neighborhood shortly after breakfast. All the kids in the neighborhood had bikes and for the most part we all got along. We would go to the nearest kids house to cool off and get something to drink or whatnot but for the most part we played outside together for hours at a time. We had the "you must come inside when the streetlight come on" rule.

I think it is just a change in times. Not just all of the electronic stuff but in many places its just not safe anymore for kids to be out by themselves. Heck my group of friends use to ride to the 7-11 to get midday slurpees when we were 9, 10 and 11... and that was 1.5 miles away! There is not a chance in heck I would let my kid (if I had one) ride down that same street in todays world. Kind of sad when I think about the freedom I was given and the lack of it that is awarded to so many kids today. I dont even live in a high crime or "bad" area and I still feel this way

 

[Ceila]

I think that there are a lot of kids who spend a lot of time indoors. However, that doesn't mean that all kids do this. Mine would rather be outside with their friends than inside. They all play outside for hours, whether it's hot or whether there's snow on the ground. Sometimes they play "run the bases" (sorry, but I still don't understand the rules of that one, lol), four-square (made with chalk on the cul-de-sac), or a loosely organized sports game, and sometimes they play make-believe in the backyard on the swing set. If the weather is crummy, they'd rather have friends come over or go to someone else's house to play, and they aren't playing video games most of the time, either. I guess it depends on how people raise their kids and what they allow them to do. I can be overprotective, lol, but I've always managed to give them lots of opportunities for old-fashioned playtime.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My children can entertain themselves. But I don't think that was the proble
with the children in the other thread. (didn't she say they did play tag?)

I think folks are giving prior generations too much credit sometimes.