Super Hans Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Why are you watching kids Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I dont understand your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SqueakyPete Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Click (safe link, no worries) I am always amazed how I never see kids on their own anymore. I was always outside in the eighties. As a six year old I used to walk to my friends' house after school with him and then walk home on my own for dinner, altogether about a kilometer and a half. The tweet I lifted this from talks about child obesity, but I think it is symptomatic of so much more, what about the fear-society we seem to be living in? What does it say about our media and the way it is impacting on our society? What world are we letting our kids grow up in? one that is similar to child prison, where the only window on the world is what they hear on the telly and read on the internet? We blame modern technology for so much, but shouldn't parents blame themselves for actually giving in to these statistically completely irrelevant fears of child-snatchers and traffic deaths? Are you making this comment as a parent? There are sickos out there,and all statistics go out of the window when you have kids.even if the odds were similar to that of winning the lottery,its going to happen to some unlucky souls,and I will do anything in my parental power to make sure its not my kids. That doesn't mean they are locked up,but they certainly don't roam the streets like I did as a kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 But the chances of anything untoward happening to them is actually less than when you were a lad.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tzijlstra Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 Are you making this comment as a parent? There are sickos out there,and all statistics go out of the window when you have kids.even if the odds were similar to that of winning the lottery,its going to happen to some unlucky souls,and I will do anything in my parental power to make sure its not my kids. That doesn't mean they are locked up,but they certainly don't roam the streets like I did as a kid. Isn't this exactly what is wrong Pete, not to be funny, but do you really believe you are going to win the lottery? Risk is part of life, as an adult you are expected to evaluate and take risks all the time, how do kids learn about this if they aren't allowed to take their own? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliceBB Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I've just signed a Nights away passport for some of my Scouts. Aged 11 and 12, six of them camping on their own about six miles away. They have to get a train and bus there, pitch their own tents, cook their food and whatnot. My biggest worry is someone objecting to the knives they will be using to skin the rabbits for dinner... most children these days are a good deal more sensible than people think. That sounds good...except for the rabbits! How will they catch them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zamo Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Are you making this comment as a parent? There are sickos out there,and all statistics go out of the window when you have kids.even if the odds were similar to that of winning the lottery,its going to happen to some unlucky souls,and I will do anything in my parental power to make sure its not my kids. That doesn't mean they are locked up,but they certainly don't roam the streets like I did as a kid. But our job as parents isn't just to ensure our kids survive childhood. It is to prepare them for adulthood and do everything in our power to maximise their chances of success when they are on their own. Doing everything for kids, removing risk and consequences etc (which seems to be the trend nowadays) doesn't prepare kids for the real world. You can see the difference by looking at different cultures. Go to London where there are loads of youth from places like Poland working in bars and coffee shops who are confident, quick and effective, whilst most of their British counterparts serve you like a tit in a trance. And that is just the ones who can get a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ousetunes Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 I lived on a cul-de-sac during my childhood so played out every night. There was a large mansion across the road from us with a large lawn and loads of shrubs and trees and we'd play there. I'd wander up to Ranmoor and down to the shops at Oakbrook. Every night I came in smelling of wet trees and grass and oil off bicycle chains. My brothers and I walked along Rivelin in 1977. I was seven. We were away most of the day...but always home before it went dark (and I certainly didn't wear a watch!). In 1983, a friend and I went to Abbey Road, London, to a Beatles exhibition. We went on the train. We were 14. We didn't have mobile phones and I don't think I called home to say I'd arrived. A year later, the same friend and I went to Liverpool on the train. We felt safe and we had loads of fun. I have two daughters, the eldest being 14. Would I let her go on the train with a friend to London? Probably, but I'd insist she kept her phone switched on! I think our perceptions have changed and we worry about what, or who, is out there. But I think our children are more at risk on line than out there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obelix Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 That sounds good...except for the rabbits! How will they catch them? Hopefully the snares will nab something Friday evening, if not I'll shoot a brace for them for Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SqueakyPete Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Isn't this exactly what is wrong Pete, not to be funny, but do you really believe you are going to win the lottery? Risk is part of life, as an adult you are expected to evaluate and take risks all the time, how do kids learn about this if they aren't allowed to take their own? I don't believe I will win the lottery,but someone will. Im sure April Jones parents would have said the same thing too,but now they have a life long agony to live with. And thats just a headline story too,pedophiles are being convicted everyday up and down the country. And...thats not even mentioning the other concern you raise...kids being run over. I don't know what your area is like,but here in Shiregreen,I have seen more than my fair share of dangerous drivers and off road bikes flying around. I feel sorry for the groups of kids that do walk around my way,where cannabis and drink is a way of life for them. These kids parents aren't teaching them,they just can't be bothered with them. ---------- Post added 07-01-2014 at 14:33 ---------- But our job as parents isn't just to ensure our kids survive childhood. It is to prepare them for adulthood and do everything in our power to maximise their chances of success when they are on their own. Doing everything for kids, removing risk and consequences etc (which seems to be the trend nowadays) doesn't prepare kids for the real world. You can see the difference by looking at different cultures. Go to London where there are loads of youth from places like Poland working in bars and coffee shops who are confident, quick and effective, whilst most of their British counterparts serve you like a tit in a trance. And that is just the ones who can get a job. Do you personally know the upbringing of these Polish barmen? Your making an argument with zero subsistence to it. Do you let your kids roam the streets? ---------- Post added 07-01-2014 at 14:44 ---------- And I don't know where the argument for being "safer today" comes from,when it appears to be quite the opposite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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