Do kids play outside where you live?

[Misterbluesky]

4 hours ago, Another Fan said:

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

Once in a blue moon I see the kids out front play roller blade street hockey.We don't have curbs so the ball ends up on the front lawn a lot...I love watching them wack the crap out of my lawn with their sticks when they retrieve the ball..bending over is to much work I guess...

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

3 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Wish i never got them video games , wasting their lives on those things.

 

 

Moderation is the key 

[Ice bowl 67]

I remember playing football outside, playing in the woods, riding my bike down the road. Now I took a drive back in my old neighborhood and nobody is outside. All of us youngsters are gone.

[Happy]

Sadly, few seem to anymore.  Sure, I'll see kids playing organized league soccer and lacrosse games, but no pickup baseball or football games.  Today's kids seem to live indoors; something I would have been bored with as a kid.

[BillsPride12]

It's one of those bittersweet things I guess.  On one hand it's very depressing when you see how things are today but on the other hand I am extremely grateful I grew up when I did and that I have so many fun memories from childhood.  I do feel bad for the kids of today's generation though. 

[Augie]

My mother had a giant cowbell and would ring it at the front door when dinner was ready. It was LOUD! You could hear that thing all over the county! 

[Nextmanup]

I live in S. Florida where the weather is nice enough to be outside playing year round.  And believe me, there is a giant pack of neighborhood kids that play in the street and run all over the neighborhood every damned day!

 

Sometimes the noise is actually pretty loud and I'll look out the window, only to see like 13 of them playing some type of sport or just screwing around with bikes and stuff out in the street.  

 

There are a pair of girls across the street who do gymnastics outdoors all day long.  I swear to God they will end up in the Olympics b/c they are obsessed with it, live where they can do it every day of their lives, and they seem very good at it! 

 

I would love for these kids to go hide in their houses and play video games!  I work at home and the noise can be pretty distracting at times. 

 

Overall, I keep reminding myself that this is how my childhood was in WNY in the 1970s and into the 1980s...and I used to be that kid out there disrupting the neighborhood, so it's all good.

 

Part of the circle of life I guess.

 

 

[Buffalo_Gal]

When we moved onto our street, the answer was no ... but my son was one of three kids on the street, and he turned 18 the next month.  ?

 

The street has turned and all the original owners are now gone, replaced with younger families with children who bought the homes.  There are now quite a few children living on our street and they all seem to play outdoors. There are also a lot of backyard pools that get used (we hear the laughter and shrieking sometimes when we go for a walk), and the community pool and tennis courts are always in use during nice weather .  Bikes abound. Apparently, video game use + "structured" playtime is on the decline. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

5 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Moderation is the key 

 

they dont understand this concept, it more like obsession. I took them away for awhile but it didnt matter they just found other ways to play.

 

 

[LeGOATski]

4 hours ago, Augie said:

My mother had a giant cowbell and would ring it at the front door when dinner was ready. It was LOUD! You could hear that thing all over the county! 

Mine did too!

 

I was the first of the kids to buy a house, so the cowbell was passed down to me. Now it adorns my back patio. Loud as hell.

 

I live in the suburbs of a large city. There's a shared playground in the neighborhood that I see kids at. The older kids have kind of vandalized it, unfortunately. My kids are pretty young, so they don't go anywhere without us yet. I'm not sure how I feel about them hanging out around the neighborhood. I'll feel better if they stay close by and with a group.

 

When I was a kid, we rode our bikes for miles. My parents had no idea where we were. We were in a rural area.

[Gugny]

When I first moved into this house 10 years ago, there were a lot of kids between the ages of 5-10.  They were outside all the time.

 

Fast forward to today, I hardly ever seen any kids outside.  A lot of the families new to the neighborhood have infants/toddlers, so I see them taking walks with their parents. 

 

I think there's been a neighborhood "reset," with the kids who were the 5 year olds back then now being 15 and the older kids too old to "play outside," or they're gone.

 

Not too many kids in that 5-10 range.  

 

When I was 15, my buddies and I still hung out outside.  I've never seen teens hang out in this neighborhood.  Sign of the times, I suppose.

[BuffaloBill]

9 hours ago, Augie said:

My mother had a giant cowbell and would ring it at the front door when dinner was ready. It was LOUD! You could hear that thing all over the county! 

 

 

Lol.. that’s funny...  I’ve never met your mother but I like her!

[4merper4mer]

15 hours ago, Another Fan said:

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

A lot of parents tell their kids to hurry home if they spot a white van with no windows lurking about.  Maybe that's why you never see anybody.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

8 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

I live in S. Florida where the weather is nice enough to be outside playing year round.  And believe me, there is a giant pack of neighborhood kids that play in the street and run all over the neighborhood every damned day!

 

Sometimes the noise is actually pretty loud and I'll look out the window, only to see like 13 of them playing some type of sport or just screwing around with bikes and stuff out in the street.  

 

There are a pair of girls across the street who do gymnastics outdoors all day long.  I swear to God they will end up in the Olympics b/c they are obsessed with it, live where they can do it every day of their lives, and they seem very good at it! 

 

I would love for these kids to go hide in their houses and play video games!  I work at home and the noise can be pretty distracting at times. 

 

Overall, I keep reminding myself that this is how my childhood was in WNY in the 1970s and into the 1980s...and I used to be that kid out there disrupting the neighborhood, so it's all good.

 

Part of the circle of life I guess.

 

 

you forgot one important detail.

 

you standing on the front porch  in zuba's yelling

 

 

[Steve O]

17 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

No. I blame helicopter parents. When I was a kid, it wasn't uncommon to leave the house after breakfast and not come home until dinner.

 

One of the kids in my neighborhood had a sign on his back saying to send him home at 5.

 

It kills me when I'm driving around in the summer to see all the empty ball fields. Never would have happened in the 60's. Always found a way to improvise...ghost runners, call your field, all-time position player, home run ball.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

3 minutes ago, Steve O said:

One of the kids in my neighborhood had a sign on his back saying to send him home at 5.

 

It kills me when I'm driving around in the summer to see all the empty ball fields. Never would have happened in the 60's. Always found a way to improvise...ghost runners, call your field, all-time position player, home run ball.

What kids that you know even PLAY baseball nowadays?

 

[Marv's Neighbor]

They mostly stay inside and exercise their thumbs.

[teef]

i feel i still see it a lot.  our street not so much because of older families.  on top of that, there's about 25 houses with 2-3 acre lots.  the most kids we've ever had  trick or treating...2, and they came together.  the street is starting to turn over though.  there's finally small kids, people are building pools, etc.  i find our suburb is very active in the summer. we have our daughter in activities like soccer, gymnastics, etc, and those things are always packed.  

 

that being said, i really don't think it will be as active as when i was younger.  i remember riding my bike into the local town (webster) to go to the arcade or buy baseball cards.  we rode for miles along a fairly busy expressway, (there was a bike path).  I just don't think i'd let my kids do that now.  

[Steve O]

30 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

What kids that you know even PLAY baseball nowadays?

 

None. That was my point. Even the kids that couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time without saying "step, chew, step, chew" played when I was a kid. The girls often played as well. Which is why it kills me to see the ball fields empty, knowing that the kids are inside surfing the world wide web or playing video games.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Is riding around on motorized "vehicles" considered play? 

If its not scooters its those damn noisy cars with plastic wheels 

 

  

now THIS is a scooter