DISQUS

Sarcasmom · 1 year ago

It's a shame, isn't it , that life is not that easy anymore. You can't even let your kids out to play unsupervised. Now parents make play dates.Mine used to go out early in the morning and come back for lunch and dinner. They played around the neighbohood all day, with all the other kids.

Frank · 1 year ago

You're right. We used to get booted out of the house in the morning, told to come back for lunch (which we ate outside), and then be home in time for dinner. Nowadays, it's all protection. My 14-year-old just told Sheryl that they can't have scissors at school anymore. Honest to goodness. What a change...but I've changed too...it's video games now, not dirt clod fights in the ravine.

PaxRomano · 1 year ago

Well, my dad "taught" me how to fish ... actually he took me down to League Island Park in South Philly with a cheap plastic fishing rod, and after I hooked a couple of tin cans and an old boot, we called it a day.

My dad did teach me how to play pinball! He would take me to the corner bar with him and order me vanilla cokes and give me dimes to play the pinball machine, he was damn good at it, and taught me well . The thing was, I had to tell my mom that we had actually gone to the library. So I guess he taught me how to "embellish" the truth.

Frank · 1 year ago

Pax...I love how your dad taught you to play pinball...something about father/son bonding when there's a little secret involved.

That cracked me up about the fishing. We caught fish, but years later they revealed that the entire lake was polluted with PCBs, and you could get cancer from eating the fish. Go figure.

albert · 1 year ago

i hate how kids are so coddled these days. it's not even necessarily by the parents now. the world's become too sterile and the souls of the adults of tomorrow will be broken too easily once they enter the real world.

Frank · 1 year ago

Albert, it is amazing how much coddling goes on. We worry for our kids, but we're not doing them any favors "protecting" them from every possible negative thing.

Tami · 1 year ago

Frank - It's never too late to teach your kids things. Three things Matt will need to know by this time next year (and I speak from experience)...1) How to do his own laundry..correctly. 2) How to check the air, put in air and change a tire...correctly. 3) How to assemble a piece of furniture that comes in a box, especially one that says "no tools required"....correctly. Life lessons for the college freshman!

Frank · 1 year ago

Tami, those are three valuable life lessons, that's for sure. I may have to count on Sheryl for #1, but I will march him out there for #2 (I've had my share of tires that have blown out...had one this year). As far as #3 goes, that's great advice. Guys don't read instructions...but I'd say it has to start there. Thanks for the ideas...I'm going with these.

MsInformation · 1 year ago

Thanks for the great post and the wave of nostalgia. I feel fortunate for having had the freedom to ride my bike anywhere, for swinging on vines and ice-skating in the woods, for childhood camping trips with my Scout troop, for fishing with my grandfather when I was a kid and target shooting with him when I was a teen. It is indeed a different world- or does every generation say this when they reach our age?
And by the way, I have no doubt you're one of the great dads, despite the absence of whittling lessons.

Frank · 1 year ago

Ms. Information, I'm hit by these waves from time to time. Perhaps it's a sign of the age. It is funny to wonder if that's what each generation goes through. We did a lot more outdoors things when I was a kid, and I suppose my dad, who was born in 1924, probably had an outdoorsy existence that far exceeded mine.

We're trying to do the right thing...somedays I think we're doing right. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Pinky Bear · 1 year ago

Wow. My dad taught me how to play baseball. I was a great batter before puberty. I am not sure what happened. He also taught me to play the guitar some.

Frank · 1 year ago

Good deal...I'll have to do a post on what I've taught them...cool what your dad did. We're all the composite of our life experiences...and it's funny how many were taught to us when we think about it. Guitar and baseball...fun.

Steve · 1 year ago

Sometimes I too feel that I haven't been the best at passing along some of those things that my father taught me to my son...however, we both have been fortunate to have others help...Cub Scouts (whittling), Howard (chopping down trees...imagine that!), Bob (hunting) just to name a few.

It seems that there are so many more pressures on everyones time, work, school/homework, sports and other activities (not to mention the transportation time there!) that there is prescious little left to teach let along learn some of things that used to be our leisure...maybe I need to send him to Tinkering School :http://www.tinkeringschool.com/blog/2005/about/

Rustic Furniture · 1 year ago

You just realized these things when you get older and yeah sometimes you regret it. Hoping you have learned it when you were younger.

oliver · 1 week ago

This is a great site to read and it made me realise what i use to get up to, come after school time i would ride my bike and climb trees with my best mate which use to live across the road, and on the weekend i would be out all day with my mate and we would ride our bikes around and play with sticks and explore the aussie bush, i quickly learnt how to avoid snakes and other things. and a pocket knife helped us have fun and make shelters and spears and just made me appreciate trees more.

heres a question for all the presidents, prime ministers etc, if our kids dont get out into the environment and learn to play in it naturally, how will they learn to appreciate its value and importance to every living thing on earth ?

let your kids play outside and make spears and swim in the rivers, they will turn out healthy and strong with a respect for nature!

im 22 and will bring up my future kids to have an array of skills in which my father and grandparents enjoyed and had to use !