Do you let your kids play in the streets?  

most of the kids now don't play in the streets anymore. they prefer playing online games if they have the net connection at home. i also noticed that with my kid. he doean't even know the games that we play when we were kids.

Hello bounce, the difference between now and then is that then, there were few vehicles on the streets so it was safer to allow kids to play. Now, it is very dangerous to let our kids play on the streets even if it is just across the house. I don't allow my children to play on the streets, i feel it unsafe and dangerous. I let them play in the backyard or in the front of the house where i can keep track of them.

Hi bounce. Believe it or not my kids did play in the streets. We are in such a little town that it has always been possible to keep track of them. When my oldest kids were little we lived out in the country, but when we moved into town, my youngest son and all his buddies rode their bikes all over town. They would go to the park, play in each others yards, and they played ball in the street, no one ever bothered them and no one ever got hit by a car. Everybody knew whose kids they were and if they got a little out of hand someone let them know.

They knew we parents would find out if they were up to no good..probably before they got home. I knew all of his friends' parents and we actually communicated. They always managed to forage for food at one of their houses, usually all of our houses..boys you know..They would be on the go from daylight to dark with a parent occasionaly getting a visual on them throughout the day..They are all 17 and 18 now and if you ask them, they would tell you they had a great time getting there.

I use to worry they were missing something living 25 miles away from the nearest theater and 50 miles from the closest mall, now I think what they gained, from growing up like they did, more than outweighs what they missed.

Now playing for kids is more hi-tech and more of solo. As they can play computer all day inside the hous. But experiencing how to play outside the house is more fun. Not only it is fun but it contributes to a lot more different aspects.First, they get to be more exercised.Making them more healthy. 2nd, they get to mingle with different kind of kids.3rd, when they lose on the game, they will learn how to be "good sport". 4th,they become more sensitive people,Unlike kids who stay at home and play. As for playing in the mall, I don't really see anything wrong there also, but they become more limited on what to do, unlike when your playing outdoor or on the street (provided the street is safe or someone is watching over the kids). Plus playing in the mall will cost their parents. But it was created for working parents, who can't let the child play more often outside and at the same time would want to spend time with their child

hello,i have no kids ,but i think now you can hardely see children play in the street .the steet have many vehicles ,it's so dangerous,parents were worried about them .so many kids like to self interet at home.it's heavy phonemon.i think it must be limited for them.

Back when I was in grade school I used to play outside all the time after classes. The guard would always get mad at me for starting the street games which we are not supposed to do. Now you are correct, most of the time kids would rather hangout indoors instead of outdoor activities due to technology rising like anything. I encourage my son to play outside instead of playing in the computer all sorts of games.

Letting them play unsupervised is good in a way to explore their minds but there should be a time limit and they should be advised very well before letting them out there and play :D

Hi mr bounce, thanks for the credit there. Actually I usually get most of my discussions when typing up a response and then think wait, this would be a discussion in itself.
Over here they don't play on the streets as such but they play in the centre of the village whilst the parents sit at a cafenion or taverna and everyone knows who the children are so its safe. We don't have playdates with limited hours, often I take my son to his best friends house and his friends parents drive him home before midnight. The children keep long late hours here, especially in the summer, as its too hot to play outside until late afternoon, when the beach and the sea are the playground. So yes gameboys and computers are used at home even here, but so are books. They are just as happy with simple things though too. We were at a taverna in the mountains at the weekend and whilst we were inside enjoying the log fire my son was happy playing outside in the cold as there was a basketball hoop and ball to entertain himself with.

hi bounce58 if kids played in the street where I used to live they would be hit and killed as its a main thoroughfare through Tustin and they drive much too fast. In our apt.complex when I did still live there the children played on the large grassy areas but mostly they stayed inside with their computers and all the new gadjets like computer games and so forth. as a kid I grew up on the farm which is ideal for children as you had room to play games, roller skate, just hike and play all the old time kids games even to jump rope. the kids now days have no idea what we used to do. they are all inside on the net with all the newest gizmos.

Hi bounce58
I was thinking about the same thing yesterday.My kids were outside on the driveway and i was watching over them.I won't mind my children playing with other kids as long as I know the parents because times have changed.I was thinking that when i was growing up my parents never had the time to keep an eye on me.I used to play in front of my house and then play with other street kids.But noone ever questioned me as long as I had finished my homework.But,I think that time was very safe.hardly any criminal activity.We didn't ever hear words like paedophiles etc.Every day news is full of such criminal behaviour
Parents are more concerned about their kids safety and well being.
I do miss those carefree days..