When I Wur A Lad

I don't live where I grew up, though it was a small village and I assume hasn't changed much at all. Now, I live in Preston and the kids that I do see are usually throwing rocks at our windows, breaking in to nearby apartment blocks (and ours), damaging property or shouting abuse and threatening people. And why do I get targeted? Because the basketball court, put in place for them, is right outside my apartment window and clearly can't be enjoyed for what it actually is.

Still, I see no problem with technology being a big part of childhood now. I was the kid that played out in my garden every day and loved it, but at ten years old the internet came about and by eleven I was constantly online, creating websites and chatting online. Sure, it was a different childhood but I don't think any less fulfilling.

Obviously obesity is becoming more of a problem, but I think that after a decade of console gaming it has led us far enough that we're now learning to create technology that doesn't take away from us. I received Kinect for Christmas Day, and playing even the simplest games on it can provide a good workout. Exercise games are even better. I don't think there's anything wrong with responsible use of technology instead of the pursuits of the past.

my area has changed alot since i was a kid more druggys and asbo kids its like the broncs , there were loads of parks without damage to them , there were loads of feilds to play now houses have been built there is no where for the kids to go theses days like youth clubs, its just getting drunk on the streets and just makeing everyones life hell, and with the snow we have had kids throwing snowballs at windows and at cars then running of , is it just my area or does everyone else get the same with kids these days , thank god my kids didnt want do them sorts of things and drink on the streets and just basicly be asbos, my kids choose the rite path thank goodness

Oh, please don't make me put my 'Grumpy Old Woman' hat on, Omendata!

Yes, I went to the Church Youth Club where the worst we got up to was an innocent snog behind the bike sheds. In the summer holidays we were out at dawn with a packet of jam sandwiches and an apple and spent the day climbing trees and hanging over the canal bank catching tiddlers. We returned home at dusk and our parents hadn't called the police to report us missing.

We didn't get abducted by paedophiles, we didn't die from eating our sandwiches with grubby hands, and you hardly ever saw a fat kid.

Hi Omendata

I think that things have changed alot! I like the others that have commented played outside all day when I was little (always within my neighbour area), most the people who lived by us knew me and my sister and there was a sense of community. We did always have a T.V and we didn't miss it when we didn't have it and computer in the home where unheard of!

I think that good oldfashioned play is excellent and necessary for children but there are so many more dangers nowadays - I would not allow my children outside by themselves even though I live in a quiet close in a village environment. It is sad that young ones today don't seem to have a lot of outdoor life. This is evident due to the return of Ricketts of Children - a condition by caused by lack of Vitamin D (supplied by Sunshine).

It's a long way back that one is! But when I was a lad, there were so many things that would seem archaic today. Things such as 960 Farthings to the £1 ( yes they were still around in 1956 ), black and white television only, bread and dripping for tea ( with ketchup as a treat ), Morris Minors, having to go through the telephone operator for anything other than a local call, Radio Luxembourg as the only source of pop music, Laurel & Hardy on the TV at Christmas, Popeye cartoons, Jamboree Bags, post delivered three times a day, telegram boys on little red motorcycles for urgent messages, police cars with bells only and only in black paint, 126 Film Cameras, Muffin the Mule string puppets, Smiths Crisps with little blue 'twist' packets of salt and pretty much no supermarkets.
Life changes daily for everyone. I think that's one of the laws of being a human being, nothing stays the same. Some call it progress, some call it a natural event. WE get bored with routine and essentially routine is not always financially rewarding, whereas change can be. I have looked at my old hunting grounds ( when I was around 8 to 10 years of age ) on Googlemap and everywhere seems subject to massive parking restrictions, enforcement notices and cramped redevlopment. But go back a further 30 to 40 years and you will see a culture far more primitive than what I experienced as a child.
You make important points about allowing kids to have a basic and uncluttered childhood, they seem to grow up so fast nowadays and even my 8 year old grand-daughter refuses a McDonalds Happy Meal as it's only for kids! There are so many external influences on our kids nowadays that they change more rapidly and are better informed than ever before. The advent of the internet and mobile phones and multi channel TV, while all a boon, have changed the way we grow up forever.
And to be honest, I don't think we will ever go backwards. Open spaces will become less. We have to cater for a growing population on our relatively small island. I am afraid that the romantic memories of childhood will be just that, memories.

That's a good observation Omendata and you have some good replies here.

All I can add is when I wur a lass with my friends all we could think of was what to build next and what to create with our bare hands indoors and out, I can't ever recall wanting to stay and sit around on a dry day.

I honestly think if we were to take away these games machines that the youth today would be completely flummoxed as to what to do with their time.

It would make for an interesting experiment though, don't you think?