Originally Posted by
livedarklions
You're making my point for me--it's now normal to organize a kid's time for them to an extent unheard of a generation or two ago. You have the alternatives as riding around vs. organized sport. Kids used to organize their own games with the neighborhood kids, adults not invited. The notion of adults telling us where it was safe to ride would have been laughable.
It's no wonder that kids are retreating into a world of electronics--it's the one place they can go without adults telling them constantly what to do. The consequence of this is that there's an even bigger divide between physically active kids who are really into sports enough to put up with the regimentation and the very inactive everybody else.
Your point was that a decline in sale is at least partly related to safety advocates claiming cycling is risky.
I respond to that point, and now your point apparently is that its normal to have parents organize a kid's time and kids dont like that so they turn to electronics.
I really didnt pick up your new point in your prior post since you werent making that point in that post. Moving uprights right there.
Ill respond to your new point(s).
- a generation of kids cant seriously be reduced to a simple trend as is claimed here. I see kids playing outside all the time across my metro and in other locations too. Heck, my kids play outside all the time. They are in our yard, in a neighbor's yard, across the street at some open land, and at the barn where they ride. Its a constant stream of free play.
- I dont disagree that kids are scheduled more now than when i grew up(80s and 90s). At the same time, I played year round travel soccer(indoor for winter), basketball, and travel baseball. I often times went from one sport to another while changing in the car. I still had gobs of free time to play with neighborhood and school friends. We played video games(since they existed way back when too) and outside. I see a lot of kids doing the same now.
- I get that the 60s/70s consisted of a mom staying home and kicking her kids out of the house for the day, but that too is a popular narrative with limited truth(similar to claiming kids just want to stay in and play on phones).
- The claim that electronics is the one place where kids can go and adults dont tell them what to do is laughable. And when it is true, thats a shame because the adult/child interaction and dynamic could be improved.
- Your view that there are either active kids in regimented sports or inactive kids glued to electronics is yet another completely inaccurate narrative. Reality is very much right between the two. Active kids in sports still often like electronics. And kids who arent in traditional sports still often enjoy activity(hiking, cycling, climbing, playing at a park, etc).
My kids are in activities because they choose to be. They would be in more if we let them, but we limit what they have at any given time of year to ensure the family has some sanity and to ensure they give effort to whatever they happen to be involved in at the time.
This is a common theme and view among parents of their friends too- the kids ask to be in activities. Perhaps some of the organized activities taking time away from neighborhood free play is due to kids being listened to more and parents deciding to spend more time and money on activities than in decades past.