Where Have All the Children Gone?

There was a time in the past when all a child had to do to find a playmate was open the front door and walk out. Not everyone lived in close neighborhoods, of course, but even those who lived in the more remote places could usually count on 2-3 other kids living nearby that they could wander off to impulsively and visit. In the country neighborhood I grew up in, kids could always be found playing, visiting one another, plotting adventures and escapades, and building imaginative new things. Some of the most fun (funnest?:)) things I remember included treehouses, wood forts, lemonade stands, bike rides on the street and trails in the woods, stone stepping and skipping, on ponds and over streams. Once I remember some kids down the street putting on a 'kid carnival', setting up games and activities that each cost a dime but that always resulted in fabulous prizes that nullified the profits completely. Not an adult was ever in sight, and everything was organized, planned, initiated, and finished solely by children from dawn until dusk:).

In today's world, there is a different scenario that plays itself out in towns and cities. The life after school and in summer that kids used to call their own with no interference from prying adults was long ago terminated in favor of more structured, 'beneficial' play, more organized 'enrichment', more competitive sports, and upscale daycare that leaves no stone unturned in their quest for the perfect child . Gone are the days when a child would come home from a stressful day at school, throw his/her books on the bed, change into playclothes, and run out to see who could play that day. Nowadays they are lucky to get home before dark, often with fast food suppers on the way home and 2-3 hrs. worth of homework waiting for them before bed. That all important 'Socialization' that we homeschoolers hear of so much that is viewed as the advantage of formal education is utterly suppressed in these children, only because there is no longer time to do what every child since the beginning has done---play and play some more.

Our kids have some sports that they play, and they have activities that they attend when they want to. For the most part, these things are done only because they enjoy them, and because they wanted to try something new and participate. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view:)), we do not have the money to enroll our kids in a multitude of different classes. If there is something they love and really want to get involved in, then we think hard and figure out a solution, but most of the time they are left to their own devices and their own imaginations, just as we once were:).

Today the boys found a new friend in the house next door. They played this afternoon while I washed the dishes, folded the laundry, and took care of the things that I needed to do. I kept an ear to what was happening, as usual, but never interfered with what they were doing because that was their time and not mine. I hovered near the edge of their world as my mother, her mother, and all the mothers that came before us have always done, trusting them to do what was right and become social, well-adjusted human beings (with or without our enrichment:-).