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We Have Ruined Childhood

nytimes.com

151–160 of 505 posts

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#151
post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Kids need time with their friends away from parents. I'm so glad I was able to grow up in the (sadly last) "be home for dinner, be back by dark" generation. Completely agree with your comment, but "sadly last" here is not accurate unless you're talking about North America and maybe Europe. I live in Japan and it's quite normal, even in a big city like Tokyo, to let kids play on their own until it gets dark. I feel…

It's a pure creation of the media, which has spent the better part of 50 years terrifying parents with panic after panic. The reality is that crime is much lower today and yet we are more afraid of crime than ever.

In the past,. being victimized by crime was expected. Now it's prevented. That's progress.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#152

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well Seoul, Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai are similar when it comes to kid going out. But the childhood is still under siege in these places by constant pressure to excel with lots of extra curricular classes. My close friends kids in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing spend most of their time in extra tutoring or music or painting or dance classes or something else whe…

> My close friends kids in Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing spend most of their time in extra tutoring or music or painting or dance classes or something else where they have to excel. Of course this happens, but let me return to my point: it's perfectly normal to see a 5-year-old in the park on their own (here in Japan). In the U.S., the parent would be arrested . Don't try to convinc…

Please stop spreading falsehoods about America.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember meeting a young French dude that camped his way around Japan, even in the cities. In my home city in the US, you couldn't even walk in downtown after dark.

This is going too far. I've lived and spent time in various USA cities: LA, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Denver, etc. I never had any difficulty walking downtown after dark.

LA and Chicago have some really bad areas, but also some safe ones.

Memphis, Houston, NO, St Louis, Baltimore etc have some crazy high crime neighborhoods, and it used to be worse. Murder rates higher than the worst places in the world. Not even places like Afghanistan come close.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#154

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@Causalityl , @jranmer - question for both of you (or whoever) - at what rate of death if any would it become appropriate to do these types of drills and why?

I don’t know where the line is, but I think I would sooner pull my kids out to homeschool than have them be further traumatized/militarized by letting them participate in active shooter drills. It’s insane and will be a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more you expose kids to this kind of lifestyle, the more it becomes... part of their lifestyle.

Yeah, look how utterly ruined we were because we had nuclear bomb drills(!) and earthquake drills.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#155
post #132
post #70

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I can assure you that no child gives two shits about how many likes your Saturday activity received on any social media platform. A handful of worms, a skinned knee, and arms covered in poison ivy they’ll remember. The perfect sunset shot they won’t.

Did I write my comment that poorly that you think I care more about social activity than my kids fun? I didn’t think I did but maybe I’m interpreting your comments incorrectly.

You are. I’m in violent agreement with you.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@Causalityl , @jranmer - question for both of you (or whoever) - at what rate of death if any would it become appropriate to do these types of drills and why?

When there aren't far more productive ways to spend that time. For instance, teaching and reinforcing the wearing of seatbelts, talking to kids about domestic abuse, or even just child gun safety like not picking them up and playing with them.

Schools do all that. Now what?

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is going too far. I've lived and spent time in various USA cities: LA, Chicago, Boston, Dallas, Denver, etc. I never had any difficulty walking downtown after dark.

You are talking about very large cities only. How about most of the U.S. with smaller cities and towns?

Small cities are the worst. Witnesses are the best protection against crime, but there is no one out after 8:30 in the evening. You could unload a dead body from a van and when it's found the following morning no one could tell where it came from.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

@Causalityl , @jranmer - question for both of you (or whoever) - at what rate of death if any would it become appropriate to do these types of drills and why?

The answer isn't dependent on rate of death. It's based on when we start teaching children to heal through trauma, as well as take responsibility for and learn to release their emotions. These drills are simply trauma fuel. They're irresponsible actions taken by irresponsible, fear-driven adults who think they know what kids need when they themselves don't know how to be ok in an horrific situation or how to heal fro…

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Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#159

Well, if you report 24x7 hate and danger, scare the crap out of people, and report that there is danger behind every tree, then yes, childhoods are ruined. Things are getting safer and the only way you would know it is go look at the CDC stats. Kids need time with their friends away from parents. I'm so glad I was able to grow up in the (sadly last) "be home for dinner, be back by dark" generation.

As a parent, I actually do pay attention to CDC stats. And because of this, I am worried - not because of kidnappers, but because of cars - which unlike most other dangers have only gotten deadlier (to pedestrians) over the years (source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/07/us/pedestrian-deaths.html). Despite living an urban lifestyle, walking or biking to destinations, and teaching our kid basic traffic safety, we are nonetheless at the mercy of other people driving deadly weapons all the time.

Re: We Have Ruined Childhood

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Kids need time with their friends away from parents. I'm so glad I was able to grow up in the (sadly last) "be home for dinner, be back by dark" generation. Completely agree with your comment, but "sadly last" here is not accurate unless you're talking about North America and maybe Europe. I live in Japan and it's quite normal, even in a big city like Tokyo, to let kids play on their own until it gets dark. I feel…

Apples and oranges. Japan is one of the safest countries in the world. - Murder rate (per year per 100,000 inhabitants) Japan: 0.20 USA: 5.30 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intention... - Rape rate (number of rape incidents per 100,000 citizens) Japan: 1.0 USA: 27.3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_statistics

If Japanese kids have a one in a billion chance of being hit by a meteorite, and US kids have a ten times higher rate, does that mean the US is justified in requiring kids to wear meteorite resistant helmets at all times?
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