Children, and playing in the street

LilacLouisa

gravitytolls wrote: »

Perhaps they play on the street rather than the playing field, because their folks tell them to 'stay where I can see you'?

Perhaps their parents should go to the playing field with their children where possible, when it isn`t possible perhaps they could tell them to be considerate of other people and their property and play quieter games.

Do children not play five stones, marbles, hopscotch etc any more?

ellies_angel

I have a wee playpark accross the road from my house and I love it when the nights are lighter and you hear the children playing, running around scurling (screaming) with fun and joy at the top of their voices. They are playing, having fun, socialising. Play is essential to the all round development of children. So many children are inside playing on computers, watching tv or texting. They have lost the art of play, playing with others, interacting socially. This is now widely recognised and because of this housing developers (in scotland not sure about the rest of the uk) have to have a green space within any new housing scheme for children to play.
Taken from Play Scotland
What is Play?
Play is the universal language of childhood. It is through play that children understand each other and make sense of the world around them. Children learn so much from play; it teaches them social skills such as sharing, taking turns, self discipline and tolerance of others. Children's lives are enhanced by playing creatively and by playing children learn and develop as individuals; it assists in their emotional and intellectual development and mental health resilience which are core building blocks for their transition years.
Children like to play as there is no "right way" or "wrong way", they can use their imagination to develop games and interact with each other without being in an adult-led environment.
Play is often called the 'work' of children. We therefore need to encourage unstructured free play, loosely supervised, as much as possible as over programming spoils the true benefits of play.
Children's play may or may not involve equipment or have an end product. Children play on their own and with others. Their play may be boisterous and energetic or quiet and contemplative, light-hearted or very serious.
Play is a very emotive word which means different things to different people, and has been defined in many ways. The meaning of play has been debated by philosophers and academics for centuries, and was recognised as far back as Plato who is quoted as saying 'avoid compulsion and let your children play'! In the last century David Lloyd George stated that 'play is a child's first claim on the community' (1926), and play gained wider recognition under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in which Article 31 enshrines the child's right to play.
Play was defined by the emerging playwork profession as behaviour which is 'freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated'. (PlayEd 1982) Students of play often quote that 'Play is the spice of life' - where spice represents children's social, physical, intellectual, cultural and emotional development. In 1998 the embryonic Play Scotland produced A Play Strategy for Scotland which described play as a natural spontaneous and voluntary activity in which all of us, children and adults benefit from engaging in throughout our lives.
All of the above underlines the importance of play, and its influence on the well being and development of children in Scotland today, and for the future of its communities, but miss something of the essence of play.

LilacLouisa

DVardysShadow wrote: »

It does show that there is some sense in stopping your kids screaming. It is the wisdom of the ancients [ie people as old as granny] that you save screaming for real danger. But, hey, now we have CRB checks there is no danger to kids from peados and any other danger does not matter, so why stop the screaming?

Ah, the irony!

fedupnow

LilacLouisa

It 'reads' like you are having a very bad day.

Not to worry, it's forcast rain this week and they'll likely stay indoors.

You can be grumpy about the weather then.

WASHER

fedupnow wrote: »

LilacLouisa

It 'reads' like you are having a very bad day.

Not to worry, it's forcast rain this week and they'll likely stay indoors.

You can be grumpy about the weather then.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

I thought the same when I read the posts by LL.

gravitytolls

LilacLouisa wrote: »

Oh well, if you don`t think they are noisier, that`s all right then.

You think people have become more territorial? Have you never heard the phrase "an Englishman's home is his castle"?

We don't park our car over the pavement, nor on it.

Why shouldn`t people expect to be able to sit or lie in their garden without their peace being disturbed by children screaming and shouting? Apparently many seek silence as a way to escape from the pressures of everyday.

Many complain about lawn mowers, strimmers, hedge trimmers, BBQ's, late night garden drinking, hot tub bubbles and all manner of associated good weather behaviour by adults.

Children play during the day, they're usually quiet at night, adults aren't, they're noisy all day, even though it's often low level, but just as irritating when you're trying to sleep.

I guess ultimately, we all need to be aware that the good weather is infrequent and all ages like to make the most of it while it's here. It's fine to expect others to be tolerant of a persons right to peace, but we all need to be tolerant of the right of others to be noisy during the appropriate daylight hours.

red_devil

we dont get many children where i am but when you do you know they are there!

I lived in a cul de sac when younger and we played outside.

LilacLouisa

fedupnow wrote: »

LilacLouisa

It 'reads' like you are having a very bad day.

Not to worry, it's forcast rain this week and they'll likely stay indoors.

You can be grumpy about the weather then.

Don`t be so bloody patronising! I am not having a bad day at all, rather a happy one.

My comments are based on the fact that I have two children who were used to playing out, either on their own or with other children. If I felt they were getting too noisy and would disturb others, I would explain to them about being considerate to those around them.

We also used to go the woods and to the parks and to the countryside around for walks and picnics, always being considerate of any people and wildlife round and about.

If you don`t teach your children how to be well behaved and considerate, the likelihood is that they will be inconsiderate and ill mannered when they grow up.

If forecasts are correct,

In the UK, population is projected to continue rising - from 61 million (mid-2008), to pass 70 million in 2029 and reach 77 million in 2050. That's more than another two Londons.**

Taken from http://www.optimumpopulation.org/

If people aren`t considerate to those around them, life may be very uncomfortable.

fedupnow

LilacLouisa wrote: »

Don`t be so bloody patronising! I am not having a bad day at all, rather a happy one.

oooo okay, calm down.

You sound like a fun Mum.

LilacLouisa

fedupnow wrote: »

oooo okay, calm down.

You sound like a fun Mum.

I don`t need to calm down as I wasn`t het up in the first place:-) I hope I was a fun mum but I got a lot of fun from doing things with my kids, rarely anything that cost much. Sadly I am now a crippled old bat but they do nice things for me, how lucky am I? :j