C is for Cookie, Thank You!

[jackwabbit]

Damn skippy I do! *C is for cookie, that's good enough for me!*

And apparently it's enough for some young ladies in my neck of the woods to try save you, in all your glory. Check it out! These girls have skills! Sesame Street Petition! Save our Street! http://tinyurl.com/yjkejd6

Comments

[arctict.livejournal.com]

Let's just suck all the fun out of childhood. I attended a meeting last year that included how to promote unstructured play and set aside an area for it in a park. I couldn't believe it.

[jackwabbit.livejournal.com]

Well, oddly enough, I don't think promoting unstructured play is a bad thing. I think we've gotten to a point where we have to because parents don't do it anymore. However, I think all you have to do to do that is not schedule your child's every moment. You can't go from school to soccer to ballet to gymnastics to homework to bed and have your child able to function and more importantly grow. They need time to just BE. To explore. To imagine. And to even eat cookies from time to time. Now, on the flip side, I do believe idle hands are the devil's workshop from personal experience in my teenage years (I was too busy to even know about parties, much less go to them), but there has to be some moderation.

I honestly believe that fear is responsible for all of this.

I do not believe our world is the most horrible it has ever been. I do not think that violence is at an all time high. I believe the world is the same as it has always been. Violence and terror have existed since the dawn of time and will always exist. Per capita, I'm pretty sure we are far LESS violent now than we were in the Middle Ages. But we hear about the crimes of this world so much more easily now and they are presented in such horrific ways that we can't help but be afraid. We as a species, that is.

And so we do not allow our children to walk to school. We package them up in every kind of protective gear we can and do not allow them to take risks. We give all of them a trophy because we're so afraid that we'll hurt their feelings. And we make sure every second of their time is accounted for by activities so that we know exactly where they are at all times and that gives us the illusion of safety. If they are at soccer, in theory, they aren't making meth in the basement. If they are at ballet, they aren't smoking pot in a parking lot.

This is a good thing. But it's gone too far. Let them be. Let them be children, for God's sake! And for the love of all that is holy, stop teaching the tests and give them back recess! You can't expect small kids to sit still all day if they don't run around for a while! (Oh, wait! Would that maybe help with the fatness, too? I think it might!)

Anyway...I'm going to climb off my soapbox now.

[arctict.livejournal.com]

Oh I completely agree with everything you said. I just meant that there now has to be an activity called unstructured play. When I grew that was just a given. I did all the organized sports stuff but a majority of my childhood was making up games with my friends, playing pick up basketball, football, and hockey games, exploring the woods, and just goofing around. I think that is much healthier and better learning experience. I've seen what happens when every hour is scheduled for a kid - they don't always know what to do with themselves when they are out in the real world. Safety is important but there has to be a balance. I don't have kids but I have nephews and a niece so I can understand the fear. Helps to turn off the news sometimes. I also had a great dog as a protector!

Off my soapbox now;)

[jackwabbit.livejournal.com]

Oh, we can't have that.

Pick up games of football? What about pads? And hockey is right out. Those sticks are dangerous! And stay out of the woods! You'll get lyme disease!

I have four nephews and two nieces, but no children of my own. I don't know that I ever will have my own kids, but honestly the biggest appeal is being able to do things my way and see how it works out! *grin*