Latchkey kids

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  Kisses Focus

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  Quoting 'Lost_Focus'   Kisses FocusDitto

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  Is it what we are doing to our children or what society is doing .. I must be lucky .. for all of my children have had the chance to climb a tree ,... but a recent encounter with a neighbour within our suburb has left a lot to be desired. Daughter (17 at the time) and a few friends had decided to make a small hang out area in some local trees .. they had acquired a sofa from a council cleanup, a table and built a semi tree house in some open bush are along the bank of the local creek. They used to go down to CHARLIE (that's the name they gave to their tree) and just hang out , listen to music on their phones, or play Nintendo together .. never more than 6 young ones at any time there .. no alcohol and no drugs, although 2 of the 6 did smoke tailor made cigarettes .One of the 'new' locals to the area, objected to this, accused the kids of being drug addicts, slashed their lounge to pieces and smashed up the table and the tree house .. ordered them to get out of HIS suburb and go back to their own suburbs and houses,because as he put it .. he knew everyone in this suburb .. and he didn't know or recognize these kids .. and then .. .. called the police on them,... The issue here is .. 1) the kids weren't causing any problems .. not noisy etc .. 2) My daughter has lived in this same suburb all her life ..(17 yrs) and I have been here in my house for 26 yrs .. and the other kids have been here the same length of time they went to school together .. 3) the cranky pants bigitod neighbour had been here 6 yrs .. Hence my kids now don't climb trees ..

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  erotictouch4u

  13 years ago

  I would ride home 10 mins from school when I was 11, often stopping a girlfriend's place on the way and getting in to do homework just before mum got home from work. Weekends were spent roaming the neighbourhood at friend's places and around the creek in the bush playing commando games. During high school we would hangout at the milkbar playing the "pinnies" and eating chiko rolls and would regularly cycle the 30 mins on weekends to my grandparent's house which happened to be near a mate's place and spend the whole day out before coming home for dinner. If I was going to be late or was asked to stay for dinner then I would ring home and still cycle back in the dark with the generator-powered headlight to see the way. On school holidays in our late high school years our parents would drop us off at the entrance to the national park or we would catch the train to the blue mountains and go bushwalking in a group of about 6-8 and just camp out in the bush for a couple of days before dragging ourselves back home at the end of the week.   We played with our friends, got exercise in the fresh air and learnt the values of responsibility and freedom. ET xox

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  As one who had kids very young (Lost Focus being my eldest) and then had one much later in life (currently 11) I can see the differences. In fact, they are brought home to me on a daily basis and I constantly reflect on this very subject. My youngest climbs trees, he roams the town with his mates but then I live in a regional community. I see that the kids are not as capable as they were in a generation gone by, I know what my eldest two did, what I did and what the 16 year olds in my care can do. Oh they are pretty savvy and worldliwise...but certainly not in practical ways. They are already dubbed "Generation Wasted" and no we are not doing them any favours by doing it all ourselves. Let them make thier mstakes, messes in the kitchen, let them skin thier knees. Unfortunately we also need to keep them safe and this is what all the legislation is aimed at in our litigious society. My eldest two children had to get themselves off to school by the age of seven. I left for work at 5 in the morning in those days and they had to get themselves up, dressed, fed and down to catch the school bus. They never missed. I doubt if my 11 year old could do that and I would have FACs on my doorstep if I allowed it.

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  An American journalist and mum Lenore Skenazy started a movement called Free RangeKkids.She urges parents to teach their children independence and social skills by loosening the reins. Apparently crime rates in Australia are dropping,kidnapping and abdutions have not risen in the past decade.Skenazy says''Over parenting is equated with good parenting...we have taken away the chance of children noticing something on their own or interacting with someone on their own'' Her views are of course very controversial but perhaps she has some valid points to make.Are children being over parented,is the ''helicopter '' parent the norm,are children going to grow up without skills to enable them to be independent? x R

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  Actually, the only reason it came about is because my eight year old asked her mum if she could catch the school bus home, instead of going to after school care, and just watch tele until we got home. Jennylee asked me and I said "No. It's against the law." That's when I started to go through the net to find out what age a child had to be to spend time alone and came across the 'Parent Trap' article. It just made me think. I know the world outside our door isn't safe now but what do we have to expect of the future. Is the time coming when we lock ourselves behind barred windows, nursing a shotgun (sorry, Freya xxx)?

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  But my kids enjoy all the wonder of how big the waves are down the beach, the thrill of catching fish, amazed at some of the sculptures we see. And they amaze me with some of those anectodes that come from the technology age. Sure it was different when we were younger, but really is it any different.

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  When I was young the predators were still there. Yes I got left in the car outside the pub. I also went to the park alone, was a latch key kid.   My children when young grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other. It was to easy to spot the predator in an environment like that, though not always. As even in sleepy hallow there are paedophiles. Violence is a way of life now, we soak it up on TV on video games. How many of you have kids with electronics in their bedrooms? Playing the shoot em kill em graphics?   We did the old cowboys and Indians but it was tame, no real blood and guts there. I watched my children with an eagle eye, because as a young person I was abused by the so called decent people. Down in the park the nice man with the candy. Alone in a car the nice man in the car park. Its just more visible these days, in those days it was there but silent and hidden. I hate seeing kids left alone in a car, any one can come and hurt them. Same at home , my children when I finally let them stay home at age 12 after school decided they would light paper in the house, and their father was a fireman! I guard my girls, and they are now world travelled and wise. Because I taught them to be vigilant in a world not made of cotton candy. As the population increases with more with less, then like rats we turn on each other and children have become savage in that they hurt each other more than ever, online and in the playground. Our young men and women drunk and on drugs bash each other in the streets. Men bash in packs now, cowards with numbers on their side. Yet these young people will look back and say to the next generation, it was much better back in my day. And that is because we edit out the past and just remember the good, and there is nothing wrong with that.

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  RHP User

  13 years ago

  Quoting 'Lost_Focus'   Kisses Focus

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