Do kids play outside where you live?

[Another Fan]

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

[plenzmd1]

1 minute ago, Another Fan said:

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

in our neighborhood, yes..a ton! Think it is the exception. We have a really nice wild area in the neighborhood with a decent size stream/creek that kids have been playing in since we moved here 13 years ago, my kids included. See a ton of kids in yards throwing  LAX balls either to each other or into pitchbacks,, playing BB..just see a ton of kids out all the time 

[YoloinOhio]

 Rarely in the winter unless there is good “play” snow outside ... but the other seasons, yes. 

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Does Pokémon Go count?

 

my kids played outside in thre 90’s all the time.  

 

I didn’t get them video games until HS.   

[Ice bowl 67]

Back in the 1990s I did with my buddies all the time all throughout the 90s into the early 2000s. I think once  in about 2003 when the Internet and all this other technology became popular that was it for playing outside for kids.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

A lot of other friends kids spent too much time back then in front of a game console. 

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

No. I blame helicopter parents. When I was a kid, it wasn't uncommon to leave the house after breakfast and not come home until dinner.

 

[unbillievable]

I see kids playing outside occasionally; Christmas break and during the Summer.

There are usually people hanging out in lawn chairs watching kids play with fireworks on the street during New Years and 4th of July.

They might be outside more than that, but I'm usually at work in the afternoons, after school.

 

I live in the 'burbs.

Edited February 18, 2019 by unbillievable

[Augie]

41 minutes ago, plenzmd1 said:

in our neighborhood, yes..a ton! Think it is the exception. We have a really nice wild area in the neighborhood with a decent size stream/creek that kids have been playing in since we moved here 13 years ago, my kids included. See a ton of kids in yards throwing  LAX balls either to each other or into pitchbacks,, playing BB..just see a ton of kids out all the time 

 

Come on, tell the whole story....those kids are out there because you're the ringleader, the King of the Kids! One day you are going to get the Kramer Karate treatment!  Watch your back! 

 

I am the Resident Old Fart (ROF for short). We live in a neighborhood with 70-75 houses, and only ONE has a kid living there. My neighbors average 10-15 years OLDER than us. It’s kind of depressing, and we’d like to build somewhere a little more lively but love our location.

 

Anyway......I grew up playing sports on fields near where we lived, often at schools. Now they lock up school yards to keep kids off, and kids (at least where we have lived) almost exclusively play in leagues with uniforms, and practices, and scoreboards and referees, and psycho screaming parents. 

 

My how times have changed, and not all for the better. 

[Gray Beard]

I’m out of touch on this one.  My youngest will be turning 30 this year.  He and his buddies were outside roaming the neighborhood all the time about 20 years ago. We live in a village setting.  A lot of places to go and things to do. A lot of kids within a radius of a few blocks. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

53 minutes ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Does Pokémon Go count?

 

my kids played outside in thre 90’s all the time.  

 

I didn’t get them video games until HS.   

 

Wish i never got them video games , wasting their lives on those things.

 

 

[The Senator]

 

Yes, of course they play outside - as long as there’s a parent or four to watch over them and protect them from all the perverts out there!

.

[Lurker]

2 hours ago, Another Fan said:

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

 

Same here.  As a kid of the 60s, we lived in the woods all week and only came home on Saturday night to take a bath.     Houses were for wimps...

[Needle]

I was a kid in the late 80s - early 90s and spent insane amounts of time outside. Like many posters have already said it was a sun up until sun down routine. We could literally be anywhere too. My parents wouldn't have been able to find us if they tried. Whether it was the train tracks, or any number of woods, or a bike ride into town .....we were gone. Honestly we wanted nothing more than to be away from our parents. 

 

Now I am the parent of 3 kids and I can't imagine letting them do anything like that. They love going outside and they can go to friends houses in the neighborhood but nothing like we did. I would say that they are on the high end of outside time for their peers. I would lose it if they rode their bikes to the next town over though. I honestly think I had too much wiggle room as a kid but it was all the kids in the neighborhood. Huge packs of us and that doesn't exist too much anymore.

[BillsPride12]

There was nothing like growing up in the 90's...we played an insane amount of street hockey, football out in a field somewhere, riding bikes, building forts, and just getting into mischief in general....I mean sure we found some time for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis but it's not like today where kids live through their phones and tablets and gadgets etc.

[Johnny Hammersticks]

23 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

There was nothing like growing up in the 90's...we played an insane amount of street hockey, football out in a field somewhere, riding bikes, building forts, and just getting into mischief in general....I mean sure we found some time for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis but it's not like today where kids live through their phones and tablets and gadgets etc.

 

Same here.  I remember waking up as early as my parents let me (probably around 7) and heading out to meet up with friends.  We either had plans to go fishing, build a fort in the woods, or play some kind of sport.  Come home to choke down lunch and dinner, and make sure to be home when the street lights turned on.  Those were fun times.

 

My son is 9 and he plays sports year round so he is plenty active.   He has a PS4 and enjoys it, but he only gets it for a couple hours on the weekend.  If he didn’t have sports, however, there aren’t really a lot of kids in the neighborhood out playing unstructured games like I did as a kid.  I was born in ‘79 BTW.

[Boca BIlls]

3 hours ago, Another Fan said:

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

Back then they didn't have awesome ***** they have now inside.

[mead107]

The teenagers are out side 2-4 in the morning stealing things from cars. ?

[Augie]

1 minute ago, mead107 said:

The teenagers are out side 2-4 in the morning stealing things from cars. ?

 

I’m glad they are getting some fresh air! How wholesome! 

 

 

We never stole anything, but we used to “camp out” in someone’s back yard, then strap 12 packs on the back of the bike as teens and ride all over creation. There is truly something special about being the only people awake and about. It’s like you have the world to yourself. I can’t believe we never got stopped riding from neighborhood to neighborhood leaving a trail of empty beer cans and urine. Ahhh, good times. (I honestly don’t recall, but I hope we didn’t litter the empties.) 

[Another Fan]

51 minutes ago, BillsPride12 said:

There was nothing like growing up in the 90's...we played an insane amount of street hockey, football out in a field somewhere, riding bikes, building forts, and just getting into mischief in general....I mean sure we found some time for Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis but it's not like today where kids live through their phones and tablets and gadgets etc.

I always think of the scene in The Sandlot where the mother is trying to encourage the quiet son to get out more.  Have fun, cause trouble but not too much, don’t just sit around....

 

Such a far cry from kids imo today 

[Misterbluesky]

4 hours ago, Another Fan said:

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

Once in a blue moon I see the kids out front play roller blade street hockey.We don't have curbs so the ball ends up on the front lawn a lot...I love watching them wack the crap out of my lawn with their sticks when they retrieve the ball..bending over is to much work I guess...

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

3 hours ago, Buffalo Barbarian said:

 

Wish i never got them video games , wasting their lives on those things.

 

 

Moderation is the key 

[Ice bowl 67]

I remember playing football outside, playing in the woods, riding my bike down the road. Now I took a drive back in my old neighborhood and nobody is outside. All of us youngsters are gone.

[Happy]

Sadly, few seem to anymore.  Sure, I'll see kids playing organized league soccer and lacrosse games, but no pickup baseball or football games.  Today's kids seem to live indoors; something I would have been bored with as a kid.

[BillsPride12]

It's one of those bittersweet things I guess.  On one hand it's very depressing when you see how things are today but on the other hand I am extremely grateful I grew up when I did and that I have so many fun memories from childhood.  I do feel bad for the kids of today's generation though. 

[Augie]

My mother had a giant cowbell and would ring it at the front door when dinner was ready. It was LOUD! You could hear that thing all over the county! 

[Nextmanup]

I live in S. Florida where the weather is nice enough to be outside playing year round.  And believe me, there is a giant pack of neighborhood kids that play in the street and run all over the neighborhood every damned day!

 

Sometimes the noise is actually pretty loud and I'll look out the window, only to see like 13 of them playing some type of sport or just screwing around with bikes and stuff out in the street.  

 

There are a pair of girls across the street who do gymnastics outdoors all day long.  I swear to God they will end up in the Olympics b/c they are obsessed with it, live where they can do it every day of their lives, and they seem very good at it! 

 

I would love for these kids to go hide in their houses and play video games!  I work at home and the noise can be pretty distracting at times. 

 

Overall, I keep reminding myself that this is how my childhood was in WNY in the 1970s and into the 1980s...and I used to be that kid out there disrupting the neighborhood, so it's all good.

 

Part of the circle of life I guess.

 

 

[Buffalo_Gal]

When we moved onto our street, the answer was no ... but my son was one of three kids on the street, and he turned 18 the next month.  ?

 

The street has turned and all the original owners are now gone, replaced with younger families with children who bought the homes.  There are now quite a few children living on our street and they all seem to play outdoors. There are also a lot of backyard pools that get used (we hear the laughter and shrieking sometimes when we go for a walk), and the community pool and tennis courts are always in use during nice weather .  Bikes abound. Apparently, video game use + "structured" playtime is on the decline. 

[Buffalo Barbarian]

5 hours ago, ShadyBillsFan said:

Moderation is the key 

 

they dont understand this concept, it more like obsession. I took them away for awhile but it didnt matter they just found other ways to play.

 

 

[LeGOATski]

4 hours ago, Augie said:

My mother had a giant cowbell and would ring it at the front door when dinner was ready. It was LOUD! You could hear that thing all over the county! 

Mine did too!

 

I was the first of the kids to buy a house, so the cowbell was passed down to me. Now it adorns my back patio. Loud as hell.

 

I live in the suburbs of a large city. There's a shared playground in the neighborhood that I see kids at. The older kids have kind of vandalized it, unfortunately. My kids are pretty young, so they don't go anywhere without us yet. I'm not sure how I feel about them hanging out around the neighborhood. I'll feel better if they stay close by and with a group.

 

When I was a kid, we rode our bikes for miles. My parents had no idea where we were. We were in a rural area.

[Gugny]

When I first moved into this house 10 years ago, there were a lot of kids between the ages of 5-10.  They were outside all the time.

 

Fast forward to today, I hardly ever seen any kids outside.  A lot of the families new to the neighborhood have infants/toddlers, so I see them taking walks with their parents. 

 

I think there's been a neighborhood "reset," with the kids who were the 5 year olds back then now being 15 and the older kids too old to "play outside," or they're gone.

 

Not too many kids in that 5-10 range.  

 

When I was 15, my buddies and I still hung out outside.  I've never seen teens hang out in this neighborhood.  Sign of the times, I suppose.

[BuffaloBill]

9 hours ago, Augie said:

My mother had a giant cowbell and would ring it at the front door when dinner was ready. It was LOUD! You could hear that thing all over the county! 

 

 

Lol.. that’s funny...  I’ve never met your mother but I like her!

[4merper4mer]

15 hours ago, Another Fan said:

So today I was behind what looked like the local middle school bus.  Dropped a bunch of kids off who proceeded to all be picked up.

 

For the most part kids don't really hang out outside anymore I've noticed for a while now.  Sometimes on the weekends some kids ride bikes, that's about it.  

 

As a kid of the 90's that's pretty much all you did.  Back then that was looked as uncool if you just sat inside all the time.  

A lot of parents tell their kids to hurry home if they spot a white van with no windows lurking about.  Maybe that's why you never see anybody.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

8 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

I live in S. Florida where the weather is nice enough to be outside playing year round.  And believe me, there is a giant pack of neighborhood kids that play in the street and run all over the neighborhood every damned day!

 

Sometimes the noise is actually pretty loud and I'll look out the window, only to see like 13 of them playing some type of sport or just screwing around with bikes and stuff out in the street.  

 

There are a pair of girls across the street who do gymnastics outdoors all day long.  I swear to God they will end up in the Olympics b/c they are obsessed with it, live where they can do it every day of their lives, and they seem very good at it! 

 

I would love for these kids to go hide in their houses and play video games!  I work at home and the noise can be pretty distracting at times. 

 

Overall, I keep reminding myself that this is how my childhood was in WNY in the 1970s and into the 1980s...and I used to be that kid out there disrupting the neighborhood, so it's all good.

 

Part of the circle of life I guess.

 

 

you forgot one important detail.

 

you standing on the front porch  in zuba's yelling

 

 

[Steve O]

17 hours ago, Joe in Winslow said:

No. I blame helicopter parents. When I was a kid, it wasn't uncommon to leave the house after breakfast and not come home until dinner.

 

One of the kids in my neighborhood had a sign on his back saying to send him home at 5.

 

It kills me when I'm driving around in the summer to see all the empty ball fields. Never would have happened in the 60's. Always found a way to improvise...ghost runners, call your field, all-time position player, home run ball.

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

3 minutes ago, Steve O said:

One of the kids in my neighborhood had a sign on his back saying to send him home at 5.

 

It kills me when I'm driving around in the summer to see all the empty ball fields. Never would have happened in the 60's. Always found a way to improvise...ghost runners, call your field, all-time position player, home run ball.

What kids that you know even PLAY baseball nowadays?

 

[Marv's Neighbor]

They mostly stay inside and exercise their thumbs.

[teef]

i feel i still see it a lot.  our street not so much because of older families.  on top of that, there's about 25 houses with 2-3 acre lots.  the most kids we've ever had  trick or treating...2, and they came together.  the street is starting to turn over though.  there's finally small kids, people are building pools, etc.  i find our suburb is very active in the summer. we have our daughter in activities like soccer, gymnastics, etc, and those things are always packed.  

 

that being said, i really don't think it will be as active as when i was younger.  i remember riding my bike into the local town (webster) to go to the arcade or buy baseball cards.  we rode for miles along a fairly busy expressway, (there was a bike path).  I just don't think i'd let my kids do that now.  

[Steve O]

30 minutes ago, Joe in Winslow said:

What kids that you know even PLAY baseball nowadays?

 

None. That was my point. Even the kids that couldn't walk and chew gum at the same time without saying "step, chew, step, chew" played when I was a kid. The girls often played as well. Which is why it kills me to see the ball fields empty, knowing that the kids are inside surfing the world wide web or playing video games.

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Is riding around on motorized "vehicles" considered play? 

If its not scooters its those damn noisy cars with plastic wheels 

 

  

now THIS is a scooter