Do kids play outside in your neighborhood?

[Mikey]

lol now you know what its like for us uk folks with all your sidewalk, popsicle, twinky talk

Well you guys say stuff like smashing, hip hip hurah and cheerio

[toystalker]

but yeah i remember going to the corner shop for penny sweets like age 6 or 7 and going to the high st with my older sisters to the toy shop or the cinema on sat morns

i think i may have been 8 and i walked with my sisters to school too

my 19 year old daughter was still being picked up from school at 14 LOL... she is a fine example of kids who never went out, i got her all the garden activity she could want and when older she had computers stereo dvd and such, but on weekends we always went swimming or walking and stuff to get out and about

she always used to say there was the token fat kids who would never take gym class at school, the had notes to say they could not do the physical activity... umm they didnt do it because they were fat... why were they fat because they didnt do physical stuff and round and round you go

just today on the bus home i hear some school children say ill speak to you later on facebook...
or if they are out they are spray painting graffitti and stuff... ok not all kids! as some go to after school clubs and such but its a never ending story, those type of clubs cost money.
at the hospital today i saw kids who would more than likely love to play outside, able body kids dont know how good they have it

[Mikey]

she always used to say there was the token fat kids who would never take gym class at school, the had notes to say they could not do the physical activity... umm they didnt do it because they were fat... why were they fat because they didnt do physical stuff and round and round you go

That was me

[huedell]

im sure it means something in england too

but i dont live there thats a bit like me calling you a canadian and vice versa hahah

lol now you know what its like for us uk folks with all your sidewalk, popsicle, twinky talk

This bit from Eurpean Vacation comes to mind...

DESK CLERK: No, you're scuppered, mate. The place is full of
macaroons. I could get on the dog and blow to my mate in Whitechapel.

Clark fiddles around on his "language translator" device...

RUSTY: Dad, he's speaking English.

[HardyGirl]

Do you think the fact that kids don't go out all day and play like we used to is because the kids don't want to or because the parents won't let them.?

It's been my experience that it's the parents that have stopped kids enjoying themselves outside by freaking that somethings going to happen to them if they let them go out of the front door on their own.

I'm sure to a degree, that's true. Just turn on the news and the world turns into a very scary place. But back when we were kids, the world wasn't so scary. I grew up just outside Harlem in NYC. And even w/ an overprotective mother, I still had 10 times the freedom that kids have now. My independent world might have only been a 3 block radius, but I could pretty much do everything in those 3 blocks that I needed to do, including going to the toy store! Now parents are too afraid to even let their kids play out front unsupervised. It's sad I tell you, really sad.

[toys2cool]

there's a few riding bikes and playing B-ball

[cjefferys]

There's always kids playing outside in our neighbourhood. My 4 year old son plays outside a lot too. We either take him to the park (there are lots around in our area) or in our backyard (it's big and fenced in, with a wooden play fort/swingset/slide and sand box, so there's plenty for him to do)

[Mikey]

My complex has a seperate little playground but it's set off to the side and is almost completely surrounded by forrest ... All kids are suppose to play there and only there when they're outside.

The kids aren't suppose too, but most play on the apartment yards where they can be seen by their parents and other neighbors.

This is one case where I agree with not listening to the rules.

That out of the way playground is always empty - which is good.

You never know what kind of nuts are out there.

[kerowack]

I used to play in the woods near my house, in the backyard, on the street, in the sump, under they highway in that tubey tunnel thing we had by our house, and, at my cousins house, on the roof. We were crazy....always accompanied by action figures and a bottle rocket and loved every minute of it. Those days are gone.....

There are some kids who still skateboard on my block and I see an occassional football game break out, but nothing steady. We used to play sports with the seasons....hockey and football during the winter and basketball and baseball during spring and summer. It REALLY was like the Sandlot around our neighborhood....the only time we played videogames were at night and during sleep overs....

My nephews are all poolhounds so they are outside, but it's sad to think that many are not...

[Bizarro Amy]

There's a large parking lot across the alley from my house. Kids play baseball over there, and the other day they were smacking each other around with toy lightsabers. My husband stopped me from running out, screaming, with a red one. The yard behind us has a trampoline, and unless it's pouring or snowing, there are always kids on it. The neighborhood kids also use the parking lots ramps for sledding in the winter.

[AJ Collector]

My block has only two houses.... no kids playing, quiet and yet sad!

When I was young and lived in Queens where most of my family was in the same area, we used to go play on my cousins block where we played all day long!!!

Stickball, Tops, scelzes (caps) ring o’ lareo, tag and snowball fights in the winter. There were maybe 10 of us who were very close and if we were not outside we were going house to house having a ball! Good memories!

[DocDrako]

...the other day they were smacking each other around with toy lightsabers. My husband stopped me from running out, screaming, with a red one...

I have 4 lightsabers and never get a chance to battle anyone since my cousin died. I'd love to go outside and get into an epic lightsaber battle with you del. Especially when the sun starts going down and you can really see the blades lit up.



The younger kids (about 6-12 years old) play outside in my neighborhood. Some teens ride bikes around but not as frequently as the younger kids. There are alot of scooters (foot powered) and bikes being ridden around my neighborhood. There are some pretty small kids riding scooters and every time I see them racing by, my dad instincts kick in and I think, "Please be careful not to crash!"

We have the luxury of speed bumps in our area, which for the most part slows down the autos on our street, but some people race through regardless. Sad thing is, the people racing through here live on our street. I know they're aware of the children playing. I just wish they'd slow down before something bad happens.

It's nice to see kids playing outside. It shows me that social play isn't dead yet.

[TrueDave]

The poorer the neighborhood the more likly the kids are playing outside. Cincinnatti :-(

[Duncan]

I grew up in Philly, where we'd play outside from about 10:00 AM until 9:30 PM in the summer, though with liberal cartoon breaks. Little kids, big kids, teens - everybody. Football, basketball, bikes, cops & robbers. I really miss it. I spent years as the default local QB in Nerf football. My shoulder is now trashed, but it was worth it.

That stopped from about 1990-2005, due to drugs, gangs, etc, and the neighboorhood wasn't at all safe. I've been back a few times recently, and am happy to see that kids are back outside playing again.

Now, I'm living in the 'burbs in central Ohio. The houses are farther apart, so obviously there won't be as many local kids. Still, I do see kids outside playing on a pretty regular basis. My wife invited all of the local kids in properties near our house to an Easter egg hunt this year. Not a bad way to break the ice.

[Bizarro Amy]

I have 4 lightsabers and never get a chance to battle anyone since my cousin died. I'd love to go outside and get into an epic lightsaber battle with you del. Especially when the sun starts going down and you can really see the blades lit up.

Oh boy, it's on. Just come to Mego Meet, or we'll meet up next time I'm able to make San Diego Comicon!
The best lightsaber battle I ever had was actually with a pool noodle. I took a client to Target once and he was being a pain in the butt, so I grabbed one from the display and smacked him with it. He knew enough to grab a blue one to battle against my red!
There's something about watching kids play Star Wars and do the lightsaber thing. It makes me forget about all the complaining and arguing over who shot first, and takes me back to why I still love the movies.
I actually saw some kids playing Godzilla in my aunt's neighborhood, in the traditional way. They had some boxes and blocks out, and one of the kids was stomping over them while the others were yelling, "Godzilla's coming!"
Because of all the things I see the families I work with go through, I tend to treasure moments when I just see kids having fun.