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Where do the children play?

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409 points casca | 9 comments | 16 Nov 25 13:45 UTC | HN request time: 0.513s | source | bottom
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CalRobert ◴[17 Nov 25 07:59 UTC] No.45951674[source]▶
In the US cars jockey for space with guns to claim the title of leading cause of dead kids.

But we often forget that cars kill kids at an astonishing rate -even though kids stopped playing outside-. In that light, the bloodbath that is American suburbia becomes much more clear. When pedestrian deaths go up even as miles walked (in aggregate) goes down, the situation is even more dire than it seems.

My kids play outside. But we moved to the Netherlands so they could. And even here, large SUVs and even -bafflingly- giant American Dodge Rams are becoming distressingly common.

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AndrewDavis ◴[17 Nov 25 09:17 UTC] No.45952049[source]▶
This is an aside. Yesterday I was in a shopping centre (ie a mall) and a bunch of kids ran through the food court, maybe 10 of them all around the 9-12

A grumpy lady shouted at them "kids you shouldnt be running!"

I turned to whom I was eating with and our discussion could be summarised as "kids should be running. The problem isn't they're running, the problem isn't even directly where they're running. Where they're running is a symptom of them having no where else to run"

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Arainach ◴[17 Nov 25 09:42 UTC] No.45952170[source]▶
Sorry, but no. You shouldn't be running in crowded areas like food courts (or indoor areas not specifically created for athletics), and playing smug semantic arguments like that doesn't help.

The kids aren't running because they're unable to go outside. They're running because no one's been enforcing that they act within the standards of basic decency.

Kids should be screaming and singing sometimes, but you wouldn't tell someone in the library not to hush them.

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1. johnnyanmac ◴[17 Nov 25 10:54 UTC] No.45952485[source]▶
>and playing smug semantic arguments like that doesn't help.

How is it semantic? They go outside and now they are running in a giant parking lot. They go a bit further and now you're a bad parent for not keeping an eye on your kid. Tell them to sit down and play on a tablet and you're also a bad parent.

There's no winning here.

>you wouldn't tell someone in the library not to hush them.

I don't consider a mall the equivalent of a libary in this situation.

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2. master-lincoln ◴[17 Nov 25 11:03 UTC] No.45952537[source]▶
If you let your kids run around in giant parking lots I would argue you are a bad parent. That seems like asking for an accident.

> Tell them to sit down and play on a tablet and you're also a bad parent.

Yes. If this is the alternative to playing in parking lots that comes to your mind first, I really wonder what kind of experiences you had.

> There's no winning here.

Ever heard of parks?

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3. rglullis ◴[17 Nov 25 11:13 UTC] No.45952601[source]▶
I'm guessing you are talking with someone who is used to life in the North American suburbs, where kids need to be driven around and most of the options for activities are indoors.
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4. mlrtime ◴[17 Nov 25 11:28 UTC] No.45952685[source]▶
Why is everything so black and white?

Do kids need more places to run free, yes.

Should they be running in mall food courts, no.

Just because this trend of kids having less free play outside doesn't excuse parents of these kids from taking any space they want. Any reasonable person can see there are still boundaries, are we just disagreeing on what those are? Kids still can't/shouldn't run at swimming pools, it's been that way for decades (just an example).

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5. CalRobert ◴[17 Nov 25 11:36 UTC] No.45952738[source]▶
How do they get to the park?
6. bean469 ◴[17 Nov 25 11:54 UTC] No.45952832[source]▶
> If you let your kids run around in giant parking lots I would argue you are a bad parent.

> Ever heard of parks?

I remember being bored as hell when my parents used to take me to the city park. Many other kids thought the same, too. I couldn't wait to run around with my friends wherever else in the city afterwards. I'm thankful for my "bad parents" for letting me roam around anywhere I wanted, as was the norm back then for kids where I grew up in Europe

7. johnnyanmac ◴[17 Nov 25 22:21 UTC] No.45959052[source]▶
>Why is everything so black and white?

because you see the effects but fail to trace the cause. I'm beyond tired of people attacking the symptoms but ignoring the cause.

8. johnnyanmac ◴[17 Nov 25 22:24 UTC] No.45959081[source]▶
>Ever heard of parks?

Yeah, my city did a great down tearing down amenities for the kids and yelling at kids to stay off the grass. I love my city.

9. johnnyanmac ◴[17 Nov 25 22:25 UTC] No.45959103{3}[source]▶
Sadly, yes. The nearest park is 5 miles from me or the mall. The buses run on the hour and will get you within 2 miles of the park. They stop running around 7pm.

I wonder why more kids aren't at the park.