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Where do the children play?

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409 points casca | 3 comments | 16 Nov 25 13:45 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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pmontra ◴[17 Nov 25 09:22 UTC] No.45952078[source]▶
I think that something else changed and should be added to the analysis: the number of children. There are less of them so there are less chances to reach a critical mass that lets kids play together every day. When I was little it was common to have between 10 to 30 of us within the fence of our city building. Parents and grandparents were looking at us from the windows but they were probably hearing us scream and play, a sign that all was good, and we were left alone to do what we liked to do. Where do you find 10 kids together now, if not at a school or in another organized context (organized by adults) ?
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1. Aeolun ◴[17 Nov 25 09:25 UTC] No.45952086[source]▶
> Where do you find 10 kids together now

Walk to the park at the corner, have your child shout a few times, they’ll all pop their heads out of the door at the sound of others playing, desperate to do anything other than sit inside with their parents.

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2. pmontra ◴[17 Nov 25 11:10 UTC] No.45952586[source]▶
Yes, my mother walked me to one of those parks sometimes but it was a little pointless when I could play with my friends outside my home or my grandparents' home. The kids at the park were strangers. We played together but we did not create any relationship. It was like playing with the other kids while adults were busy inside the restaurant after a marriage. A fun afternoon but it ends there if you don't meet them regularly.
3. elgenie ◴[17 Nov 25 21:10 UTC] No.45958337[source]▶
This working is a function of density. First, imagining a park at the corner is a huge assumption.

Second, if the park isn't within shouting distance of the necessary number of kids, half of the ones within shouting distance are at parent-scheduled activities, and half of the remainder aren't allowed to brave street crossings because of the six-foot-tall hoods and inattentive drivers of passing ChildMurker1050s, no amount of park yelling will be sufficient.