Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate This Thread
Hop To
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#4406002 - 02/18/18 10:52 PM Are outdoor neighborhood games dying?  
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 12,488
MarkG Offline
Veteran
MarkG  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 12,488
The Bayou
Growing up, we had a basketball goal on the driveway, neighbors next door also had one, as well as across the street. I hate basketball as I'm too uncoordinated and not all that tall (5'-9"), but when playing on my home backboard I could be challenging in a game of H-O-R-S-E. Practice, practice, practice.

The empty lots were always hosting a game of touch football or baseball with a tennis ball (no damage) or hardball/softball in more vacant areas. I don't remember the last time I saw a group of kids playing some kind of neighborhood sport.



The rusty wire that holds the cork that keeps the anger in
Gives way and suddenly it’s day again
The sun is in the east
Even though the day is done
Two suns in the sunset, hmph
Could be the human race is run
Inline advert (2nd and 3rd post)

#4406007 - 02/18/18 11:03 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 9,703
Blade_RJ Offline
Simhq Weather man, dropping rain in your parade
Blade_RJ  Offline
Simhq Weather man, dropping rain in your parade
Hotshot

Joined: May 2005
Posts: 9,703
brasil
Around here you can blame on two things, violence and modern kds prefer to play on console and their phones, and now parents dont encourage them to play outside becouse its dangerous, we finally had governament to state federal intervention in rio de janeiro becouse it got out of control, but its too late, the druglords are already all over the city, they should had done this 10 years ago when there was a power stuggle, but politician as you know are vain and only think of themselve and call for a intervention would be political suicide.
The only think i still see kids playing outside is football.

#4406009 - 02/18/18 11:11 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,944
Crane Hunter Offline
Veteran
Crane Hunter  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,944
Master Meme-er
I'm 41 and at least where I live my generation was probably the last to have played a full variety of games outdoors on a regular basis.

Now, if you see kids playing outside at all, it usually involves either some kind of skateboarding or so called "North Shore style" mountain biking.

#4406011 - 02/18/18 11:12 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
NH2112 Offline
Veteran
NH2112  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
Jackman, ME
You’re right, when I was a kid we’d all play right in my backyard. Between it and the adjoining neighbor’s yard it was plenty big for pre-teens to get a game of baseball in. At least until we put in a garden. We also had a hoop on our clothesline pole (a telephone pole at the edge of the driveway, we lived in a 3 story apartment house), but like you I didn’t like basketball. I still played, though, just very poorly LOL.

There were a few playgrounds within walking/biking distance, which back then meant 2 or 3 miles. Walking or running 30-45 minutes to play all day wasn’t a big deal. You usually had to leave very early otherwise you weren’t likely to find an open field. We also used to play on the lawn at a nursing home, and were told more than once that some of the residents really liked to watch us play. Sometimes we’d even play “touch” football on a quiet dead-end street near my house. I say “touch” because as often as not you’d be “touched” by someone’s forearms and feet as you lay flat on your back on the asphalt while he ran over you.

Another thing you don’t see any more is kids lugging a lawnmower around the neighborhood in the summer, or a snow shovel in the winter. When it snowed we’d be up at 530 eating breakfast, and when the school closings were announced at 6 we’d be out the door. Regular customers came first (I also had a few I had to shovel out before school when it wasn't cancelled, those days I started earlier), then we’d go knocking on every door that still had snow on the driveway & walk. 10, 12, or 14 hours later we’d come back, soaked from the knees down, with frostbitten fingers & toes and $40-$50 in our pockets (usually earned $3-$5 at a time.) 1/2 hour of agony as our fingers thawed around a cup of cocoa, by then mom had the food ready and was ready to relieve us of all but $5-$10 of our earnings and put it in our savings or Christmas Club account.


Phil

“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
#4406037 - 02/19/18 01:28 AM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,585
coasty Offline
Senior Member
coasty  Offline
Senior Member

Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,585
Asheville, NC, USA
we had a big field next to the lake that was the centerpiece of the neighborhood. sometimes there were 3 games of football, softball, baseball, going at the same time and smaller flag football in assorted empty lots. we road bikes to and from. now the kids in that neighborhood get off the bus with huge backpacks, music instruments and cell phones in hand. if we are mowing they often seem to be startled to see us outdoors, as they disappear indoors.


Have you seen the Arrow? WWW
#4406048 - 02/19/18 02:06 AM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,944
Crane Hunter Offline
Veteran
Crane Hunter  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 11,944
Master Meme-er
Heck, its not just kids, I rarely even see adults involved in any kind of informal sporting activity in the parks anymore.

Vancouver has a LOT of parks, and in most of them you used to at least have a couple of people throwing a ball or a frisbee around at any given time.

Now, not so much.

#4406104 - 02/19/18 01:04 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,225
No105_Archie Offline
No105_Archie  Offline

Veteran

Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,225
N. Atlantic east of Canada
Just shows how "backward" we are up here wink .............street hockey , curbside basketball nets, pickup games in neighbourhood parks are all alive and well smile


Archie Smythe

carpe diem
#4406107 - 02/19/18 01:51 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: No105_Archie]  
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,733
F4UDash4 Online cool
Veteran
F4UDash4  Online Cool
Veteran

Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 13,733
SC
Originally Posted by No105_Archie
Just shows how "backward" we are up here wink .............street hockey , curbside basketball nets, pickup games in neighbourhood parks are all alive and well smile



Yeah but just wait, that will all change as soon as you get electricity and indoor plumbing!!!

biggrin biggrin


"In the vast library of socialist books, there’s not a single volume on how to create wealth, only how to take and “redistribute” it.” - David Horowitz
#4406108 - 02/19/18 01:58 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,723
bones Offline
Hotshot
bones  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Apr 2001
Posts: 6,723
Earth
Don't see anyone in our public parks and playground in my area playing games either. About the only time I see anyone in some kind of outdoor activity now is when I go do airsoft, heh. But at least it's kids and adults out doing something physical.

v6,
boNes


"Also, I would prefer a back seater over the extra gas any day. I would have 80 pounds of flesh to eat and a pair of glasses to start a fire." --F/A-18 Hornet pilot
#4406109 - 02/19/18 02:04 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,196
Chef Offline
Member
Chef  Offline
Member

Joined: May 2001
Posts: 1,196
North Carolina
The field we used to play neighborhood baseball when I was a kid is now a forest. That will make you feel old. I can't blame kids today. I wonder how many of us would play outside or jump on computers instead had the opportunity to do so existed back then.

A coworker and I often discuss what our kids will complain about our grandkids no doing when they become parents. Usually we think it will be them griping about how much the grandkids are staying in their VR headsets. I hope there is a trend that one day reverses the stay indoors tendencies.


The road less traveled is filled with fewer needy people.
#4406115 - 02/19/18 02:32 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 19,581
Raw Kryptonite Offline
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
Raw Kryptonite  Offline
Beat the Kobayashi Maru
Veteran

Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 19,581
MS
While neighborhood games aren’t played much, IMO, it’s because organized sports for kids have advanced to amazing levels. You might not see kids out playing in your neighborhood, but it’s probably because they have fields now, time consuming team sports and even when they don’t have practice or games, they still like to hang out at the fields to play on their own. When I as a kid, our town had a couple of soccer fields. Now, we’ve got at least 4 within 5 minutes drive, 2 within walking distance with several fields. Entire complexes for multiple sports.
Sure kids now play video games, so did we, but they barely watch tv at all. They spend about the same time in front of a tv as we did as kids, but for them, it’s social with online gaming.

Considering today’s environment, house tightly packed neighborhoods are now and the way people drive in them, plus how lawsuit-happy people tend to be now, that’s why you don’t see kickball played in the street. Fewer windows get broken, fewer kids get hit by cars and the kids are still active. Most here are in pretty amazing shape. We have very nice parks with some crazy structures, but that’s mainly for very young kids. At 4 kids start playing sports and the fields are where they spend their time. Soccer, football, basketball, baseballl, swim teams, volleyball, cycling...there’s a lot more going on these days and it’s more popular than ever. Paintball has taken the place of dirt clod wars and air soft instead of bb guns.

They aren’t in the streets because they have better options now.


·Steam: Raw Kryptonite ·MWO & Elite Dangerous: Defcon Won ·Meager youtube channel
·Intel i5-9600K ·EVGA GTX1070 FTW 8GB ·EVGA CLC 120 Cooler
·16 GB Patriot Memory VIPER 4 3000MHz ·GIGABYTE Z390 AORUS PRO WiFi Mobo
· CORSAIR CARBIDE AIR 540 case ·BenQ BL3200PT monitor
#4406125 - 02/19/18 03:35 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 283
WharfRat Offline
Member
WharfRat  Offline
Member

Joined: May 2005
Posts: 283
temporally displaced
Over here, I see a couple parks by where I work and the hoops courts are almost always occupied. Baseball and softball fields are always filled, especially spring and summer. One park closer to downtown has a frisbee golf course setup in it. Some of the kids I know have to be "encouraged" out the door and away from their consoles, but they do get out and going.

#4406126 - 02/19/18 03:39 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: Crane Hunter]  
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 5,555
VF9_Longbow Offline
Hotshot
VF9_Longbow  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 5,555
Tokyo, Japan
Originally Posted by Crane Hunter
I'm 41 and at least where I live my generation was probably the last to have played a full variety of games outdoors on a regular basis.

Now, if you see kids playing outside at all, it usually involves either some kind of skateboarding or so called "North Shore style" mountain biking.



I just turned 32 and when I was a kid we still played outside. Video games were part of our life but we still made time for outdoor activities. I was blessed to live in a house right beside the ocean and mountains though. I spent a LOT of time out in the bay in a small rowboat fishing for ling cod and salmon and dogfish. When I lived in the city we still played street hockey and baseball.

In Japan, nowadays parks are heavily regulated and ball sports are all prohibited due to risk of injury (Thanks stupid parents!) and they have been paved over. Playgrounds are literally all concrete. Not a nice place to play.

I feel lucky to have grown up in an area that had grass turf in the parks, multiple baseball diamonds and soccer fields for public use, and many schools with basically public grounds free for anyone to use as long as the school wasn't using them.
My mother was poor as hell (Single mother and not a very good one, sorry to say) but the location I lived in allowed me to enjoy nature to the max. I feel sorry for kids these days who grow up not knowing the fun of fishing, building floating docks out of driftwood, going into the forest without a plan, target shooting with 22's or shotguns, etc.

Living in Tokyo for the last 10 years has made me realize that big cities corrupt people's very soul. If you're someone who has kids or is about to, moving to the countryside is probably the best thing you can do for them so long as you can provide for them.

#4406144 - 02/19/18 05:29 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,845
JimK Offline
Veteran
JimK  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,845
Spokane,WA
Remember those days well, grew up in Coon Rapids,MN and the street we lived on we were surrounded by families all about the same age and 2 to 12 kids to a house.
Was never a problem getting up a baseball game or football. Even had tennis courts out our back gate into park behind our house. Bike trails around. Practically lived out
in the park all year. Does not get used near as much anymore. But that was 50 years ago. Subjects like this is making me feel old.


Erebus Full Tower:Windows 7 Ult 64bit:Intel� Core� i7
3930K Processor(6x 3.20GHz)32GB[4 GB X8] DDR3-1866:GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan 6GB:1.5Kw PSU: 43" Sceptre 4k:
LG Blu-ray burner,: hd1/750GB,hd2/2TB,hd3/1TB,hd4/1TB,HD5/4TB

Youtube videos
Flickr Photos
#4406170 - 02/19/18 08:44 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 10,113
KraziKanuK Offline
Veteran
KraziKanuK  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 10,113
Ottawa Canada
Back in the day mothers didn't usually work, so kids were supervised from out of a window and mothers talked to each other. So we roamed pretty much a will but were supervised.


There was only 16 squadrons of RAF fighters that used 100 octane during the BoB.
The Fw190A could not fly with the outer cannon removed.
There was no Fw190A-8s flying with the JGs in 1945.
#4406172 - 02/19/18 08:48 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: KraziKanuK]  
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,845
JimK Offline
Veteran
JimK  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 10,845
Spokane,WA
Originally Posted by KraziKanuK
Back in the day mothers didn't usually work, so kids were supervised from out of a window and mothers talked to each other. So we roamed pretty much a will but were supervised.


Very true,and they were not afraid discipline a neighbors kids as their own. And all parents agreed.

And whats funny about it , most of those neighbors I had not heard from for 45 years until facebook reconnected our old neighborhood in
a facebook group. Fun talking to old neighbors.


Erebus Full Tower:Windows 7 Ult 64bit:Intel� Core� i7
3930K Processor(6x 3.20GHz)32GB[4 GB X8] DDR3-1866:GPU
NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan 6GB:1.5Kw PSU: 43" Sceptre 4k:
LG Blu-ray burner,: hd1/750GB,hd2/2TB,hd3/1TB,hd4/1TB,HD5/4TB

Youtube videos
Flickr Photos
#4406173 - 02/19/18 08:55 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: Chef]  
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
NH2112 Offline
Veteran
NH2112  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
Jackman, ME
Originally Posted by Chef
The field we used to play neighborhood baseball when I was a kid is now a forest. That will make you feel old. I can't blame kids today. I wonder how many of us would play outside or jump on computers instead had the opportunity to do so existed back then.

A coworker and I often discuss what our kids will complain about our grandkids no doing when they become parents. Usually we think it will be them griping about how much the grandkids are staying in their VR headsets. I hope there is a trend that one day reverses the stay indoors tendencies.


We had an Atari 2600 in the early 80s and a year or 2 later I had a computer with plenty of games (TRS80 Color Computer, followed by an Atari 600XL and then an Atari 800XL.) I still spent a lot more time outside than inside, and not only because being inside almost invariably meant getting put to work cleaning something.

Last edited by NH2112; 02/19/18 08:56 PM.

Phil

“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
#4406174 - 02/19/18 09:07 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: JimK]  
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 10,113
KraziKanuK Offline
Veteran
KraziKanuK  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 10,113
Ottawa Canada
Originally Posted by JimK
Originally Posted by KraziKanuK
Back in the day mothers didn't usually work, so kids were supervised from out of a window and mothers talked to each other. So we roamed pretty much a will but were supervised.


Very true,and they were not afraid discipline a neighbors kids as their own. And all parents agreed.

And whats funny about it , most of those neighbors I had not heard from for 45 years until facebook reconnected our old neighborhood in
a facebook group. Fun talking to old neighbors.


Complaining about being disciplined by a neighbour usually resulted a harsher discipline by ones parent.

Yes NH one reason to get out doors was to escape household chores. smile


There was only 16 squadrons of RAF fighters that used 100 octane during the BoB.
The Fw190A could not fly with the outer cannon removed.
There was no Fw190A-8s flying with the JGs in 1945.
#4406175 - 02/19/18 09:08 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: JimK]  
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
NH2112 Offline
Veteran
NH2112  Offline
Veteran

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 13,215
Jackman, ME
Originally Posted by JimK
Originally Posted by KraziKanuK
Back in the day mothers didn't usually work, so kids were supervised from out of a window and mothers talked to each other. So we roamed pretty much a will but were supervised.


Very true,and they were not afraid discipline a neighbors kids as their own. And all parents agreed.



Yep, back then any adult had authority over any kid. Did we mouth off? Hell yeah, from a safe distance! But likely as not as you were running away you’d hear “I know who you are, you’re _____’s boy!” Then it was playing word association all the way home. Ass? Grass. Lawnmower. If you were lucky, you’d only have to deal with whatever your parents dished out for punishment. Sometimes that wasn’t the case, though, and you found yourself being sent back to the scene of the crime for whatever THEY thought was a fair punishment.


Phil

“The biggest problem people have is they don’t think they’re supposed to have problems.” - Hayes Barnard
#4406188 - 02/19/18 10:27 PM Re: Are outdoor neighborhood games dying? [Re: MarkG]  
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,703
WangoTango Offline
Hotshot
WangoTango  Offline
Hotshot

Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 8,703
Ontario, Canada
When I was a kid (70's) we played road hockey all year round (summer time we played in a field with a tennis ball).
We had an outdoor hockey rink with official size boards and Wire mess behind the nets. It was well maintained, we lived on an Air Force Base. It was definitely cold enough all winter to have good ice (Alberta Canada) You didn't play on there until you were about 11 or 12 though. The "Big Kids" made sure your experience wasn't pleasant if you were to young to take a puck in the face. This happened to me at about age 12. Nothing like a slap shot to the chin in -25 C weather.
Now I live in southern Ontario, good luck trying to make and maintain a good rink for your kids. The weather just does not cooperate.

kids have too many distractions now. Everything is instant.

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  RacerGT 

Quick Search
Recent Articles
Support SimHQ

If you shop on Amazon use this Amazon link to support SimHQ
.
Social


Recent Topics
Carnival Cruise Ship Fire....... Again
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:58 PM
Baltimore Bridge Collapse
by F4UDash4. 03/26/24 05:51 PM
The Oldest WWII Veterans
by F4UDash4. 03/24/24 09:21 PM
They got fired after this.
by Wigean. 03/20/24 08:19 PM
Grown ups joke time
by NoFlyBoy. 03/18/24 10:34 PM
Anyone Heard from Nimits?
by F4UDash4. 03/18/24 10:01 PM
RIP Gemini/Apollo astronaut Tom Stafford
by semmern. 03/18/24 02:14 PM
10 years after 3/8/2014
by NoFlyBoy. 03/17/24 10:25 AM
Copyright 1997-2016, SimHQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.6.0