The over-sanitization of America

It would be funny, or amusing, or just bring a tsk-tsk and a shaking of the head... if it werent so depressingly TRUE!

Psychology Today: A Nation of Wimps

The helmet/pads...the playground where kids USED to find out for themselves the resiult of not learning how to fall... or prevent falling.

The over sanitization is the key... we who READ knew decades ago why you could only drink bottled water in less developed countries. And now TV is full of 'sanitize your space' products... decades after it was found out just WHY kids ate dirt.

Now, we're raising a nation/world of hot-house plants... not just in the physical environment but the psychological one...
Other articles of recent have noted parents attending STUDENT orientations at most colleges.. no, not the parent ones... the STUDENT ones.

And parents helping do the first CV/resume for graduate job applications.. and a few going on the JOB INTERVIEW!

I know what I would think if some kid's parent came in for an interview... would be interesting notes in the file.
And there's NO upside on that... whatever the applicant says about it when alone.

This isnt 'new'.. from my OWN life, my mom almost FORCED me to go into the Navy (said I needed SOMEPLACE to live and pay me), MADE me ask a neighbor for my first job when I got out, wheedled me into applying for my first tech job at a computer company down the road.

But she never went with me or told me how to apply or did anything to help me actually get on, other than say I could do anything I really WANTED to do.

 

more thoughts on same vein:The death of childhood

And for me: Daisy BB Gun duels at 20 paces.

 

Being the parent of an almost 3 year old, I agree with this. We give our very active son a very long leash (not literally) as to what he can do, but you would think we were committing a crime the way quite a few parents react. And we certainly don't over sanitize, but we draw the line at him playing with the cat litter.

 

My own experiences were simlar to the above: b-b gun wars in the park, diving for a touchdown while playing with older black guys from the wrong side of the street (gasp!) and my chest landing squarely on a projecting tree stump. The knees of my pants, and many times the skin, were gone within a week of sliding for tackles and passes.

 

I never, ever see kids playing baseball, basketball, football or soccer in the parks at all any more. When I was kid a that is all we did. Everyday all summer long. I guess in this day and age of Playstations, XBox's and Nintendo's outdoor activities are a thing of the past for most kids.

However, when I have kids, no PS2's or any crap like that. Not to say my kids will be athletes, but they will not spend their days playing video games and computer games all day long.

 

Here, Here! Stick ball in the street, now that was a blast.

 

I recently coached my ex-girlfriend's little brother's soccer league--it was "Fun, Fair, Positive Soccer" (FFPS) and it was the lamest excuse of a joke of a league. We were discouraged from using our whistles (coaches also refereed the games). We were instructed specifically to not keep score, and when asked what the score was, answer with "Not my job to keep score." No player was allowed to score more than 3 goals in a game. Why? Are we teaching children these days that everything in life is soft, low and sweet? One of the most valuable lessons I ever learned in little league sports was not just how to win with class but also how to lose with grace. That success often comes to those who work the hardest and do the most with what gifts are given to them. That sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you will lose, but that you can always win again! Not only did this league discourage success (by limiting the goals a player can score) but also ignored failure (by not keeping score). It's sad to see the lessons we're not teaching our kids these days.

 

100% agree. Perhaps you don't see them in the park because their parents won't let them anywhere near the park alone. Sad but true.

I think a lot depends on what part of the country you live in. For instance I go to high school in St. Paul yet live in a crappy wana be suburb of about 20,000. The contrast between the teens in each location is remarkable. Most of my classmates are from all over the Minneapolis, St. Paul and the inner ring suburbs. Most regularly use public transit, go all over the place working, socializing and doing whatever it is that they want to do with little parental interference.

In my hometown things couldn't be more different. Parents keep their kids on a tight leash for as long as then can until they reach the age at which they can no longer be controlled. At that point they often rebel just to rebel. Most have the perception that the cites are incredibly dangerous and can't imagine how I could be so out of my mind as to take a bus from St. Paul to the Minneapolis. The majority are just sheltered by their parents and have yet to venture out and see things themselves.

The other major difference I see is the amount of political correctness. Well my town has some diversity it really struggles with it. As we all know no one in today's America wants to come across as racially insensitive in anyway regardless of what opinions they may harbor. Therefore if race comes up in a conversation in anyway everything suddenly goes hush and your given many a dirty look. In the city I find it completely a different scenario. Good-natured "Carlos Mencia" type jokes are thrown around amongst people of different races on a daily basis. The general discomfort level among different races is significantly less.

 

As a daily bus rider in Minneapolis, it's nice to see independent teens riding the bus... when they do it respectfully! Alas, we have parts of town where local dads have taken to riding the bus to ensure that the bus stays reasonably civil.

I, too, miss the days of having every kid in the neighborhood in my backyard playing baseball. I wonder why, when I drive out to my parents' or sister's place in the 'burbs, there aren't any kids running around... no pick-up game of hockey that requires someone to yell "CAR!" a la Wayne's World.

Of course, I can't bemoan other's parenting skills for the simple reason that I have no desire to have children. I'm going to take a Libertarian approach here that petty might like... I think as a parent you have the right to raise your kid as you choose. I also have a right not to hire them, be nice to them, or otherwise acknowledge the little wimp. I don't owe you anything as much as you don't owe me anything. If your kid can't pass a test without extra time, I don't have a project they can work on that doesn't have a deadline.

Toughen up, kids! It's a bitch of a world out there!

 

Well yes if you put five or six teens in the back of the bus stupid stuff tends to happen. Or really if you put five or six teens anywhere :shock:. Some just have incredibly little sense, self-restraint, or sympathy for anyone other than themselves. I wonder if its always been this bad or yet another negative symptom of our society?

 

It's ALWAYS been that way.. HOWEVER, 'back in the day' the oldsters never seemed to worry about being mugged.
The difference is in the degree of 'acting out'

And good for those dad's!
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Look how we made the connection, here, between the OP issue and a related one.

There IS cause and effect. And it's all related