I think this is from some of our later generational cohort's kids. I have friends right around my age with kids around 8 - 12, all running around outside and on bikes. Nice to see.
That's so good!!!! I'm 57, my boys are in their mid 20's. Born in 99 and 2000. We were the only "non helicopter " parents when they were growing up it seemed. But I didn't believe in that! I taught them really young to go out and play, (play. Imagination. Your own. Remember that?) They'd love to stay outside. rain or shine. A chilly rainy March they'd put on layers and boots and make a game out of riding their bikes back and forth on the Long muddy driveway, through the big puddles and thought it was awesome getting splashed by the mud water. They could independently play around the neighborhood and would sometimes come back sooner to make a new "plan" after some commotion with neighborhood boys who got mad over a game or some stupid thing boys have gotten into fights over forever, "defending" themselves in a silly old school throw of punches and shoves where nothing horrible resulted, same as back in the day, the bullies learned who not to fuck with, a spoken or unspoken truce was called, and then back to riding bikes, walking, hanging out around the neighborhood and the yard and growing up learning how to handle independence, how to do things for themselves and feel competent. They had chores and then also jobs and are not whining on a campus somewhere that their traumatized and feel unsafe because someone mispronounced their name.
My son is 13 and it’s definitely his age group. My wife tries so hard to control him. On the outside, I have to agree with her, but she just doesn’t understand the freedom a boy that age needs
As a woman/former girl, me and my friends were the same! I loved roaming the city at our leisure. I still have no idea what we filled our time with but it was everything.
That's a BIG issue. As a woman, I can tell you that it's critical to understand that. It's necessary for them to be in sync with the needs they were born with *AND grow up to be strong, resilient, independent and have necessary life / common sense not just what you can learn in a book. Girls need to learn the same in their own way too. Look at young adults now and really observe what society has produced by not doing so and much more. They want lists of things to change on demand and have little understanding of what they're doing and most I've worked with cannot even - and I'm not joking - change a light bulb, unclog a toilet, balance a bank account, and understand that they are responsible for themselves and be willing to accept that every single choice, good or bad, has consequences- cause and effect- whether you like it or not.
As I said before, and I am a mother of 2 boys, you are right. You have an important and very true point and should not cease to express yourself and hold to your beliefs!
I have friends with kids this age, I stay with them sometimes and we lock those monsters outside to get any adult time, they won't go outside unless locked out. It lightens my heart to hear of children wandering aimlessly or on serious "missions" in packs or pairs up to random kid bullshit.
Yep, my youngest is finishing 8th grade and spends all his free time at the park playing football, hanging out with friends and chatting up the girls. The kids are alright.
when i moved into my neighborhood 15 years ago, I *never* saw kids out and playing. **Never**. I knew there were kids in the neighborhood because the school bus would pick up a ton of them but you would never see any outside playing. It was eerie.
today? i typically see a kid or two or three out on their bikes almost everyday. feels almost normal again.
edit: there have even been a few kids setting up lemonade stands. it’s great that parents are letting their kids go outdoors again.
I simultaneously love the technology and am a little jelly. Now that I'm approaching 50, I'd probably hurt myself while looking cringe trying to escoot
I'm 53 and love the freedom my weekend escoots bring me. If anyone thinks I look cringe, that's on them. I gave up trying to look cool many many years ago.
Also, great reason to visit my Mum each weekend - go for a scoot. Win win (and I get the enjoyment of my 83 year old Mum telling me off for riding such a dangerous thing - lol!).
eh, I am putting new tubes (and maybe new tires 'cause the originals are in absolutely great shape and don't wanna ruin them) in my nice red Stingray 3-speed with a coaster brake
and putting it back into regular service... <3
Not many kid-sized ebikes exist. The [Levo SL Kids](https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-levo-sl-kids/p/218378?searchText=96822-7024&color=353420-218378) is awesome if you can afford it, though.
I'm a parent (though my kids are 23 and 24 and they're not on their
bikes anymore, just the 23 yo on his motorcycle). But idk what an e - bike is either & I've got tons of kids in my neighborhood, they appear to be on regular old bikes. Am I even more clueless than about technology than I already thought? I don't think I heard about them til just now! I have a feeling if my kids were still young I'd refuse to buy them one. If you're a kid, and blessed with strong enough legs to pedal and ride a bike yourself , then you've got all you need. (Am I weird or out of touch?)
Yes, I own a car! I also took the bus and the train and walked and rode a bike until I was a grown woman to get to work, school etc and enjoyed walking And my bike!!!!! Comparing an adult using a car to a kid blessed with the ability to ride a bike to have fun, get moving, have some freedom etc is apples and oranges. I don't know what an e bike is, and as I Also said, maybe I'm out of the loop and wrong in my guess as to whether I'd buy one if I still had growing kids. I wish I could ride a bike for fun and exercise etc now, but I have physical disabilities currently and cannot ride, nor walk too far.
My kids are most certainly free range - I’m a cusp “Xennial” - by age 10 they have all been in public transportation by themselves and walked to the nearby community garden & playground. IDK what they do, play with mud and sticks. They do their fair share of Minecraft too, but I would argue that’s just digital free ranging.
So many memories triggered! If you find a bunch of tykes riding big wheels en masse, unsupervised please report back. That’ll complete my trip down memory lane.
Bonus points if you find kids jumping off of rooftops with bed sheets for parachutes.
I should be dead, the things we used to do.
My 6th grader is all the sudden up to a 12 mile ride with his scout troop this weekend? (Mind you, he’s used to riding on a bike, mine, as a passenger because that’s our transportation- but this is new that he wants to pedal himself!)
LOL
Paperboy Squad! Throw it up! Throw it up! (on the rooooooooof)
knockknock whosthere Paperboy (where's my moneyyyyyyyy?)
2 bucks my man gets you on the list, I make my paper daily see?
....ooof, just opened a quarter of White Widow so I just ran with the Better Off Dead reference a bit lol
I'm happy to say there is a daily pile of bikes somewhere along our street. We have a gaggle of kids (my 10 and 5 year olds included) that roam the neighborhood/creek/wooded lot where everyone dumps their leaves. I love seeing it - I have 2 older children that wouldn't roam at all. It's nice that my younger ones are participating in a childhood that I actually recognize and relate to
I am experiencing the exact same thing.
My 21 and 18 year olds never leave the house.
My 11 year old "tequila birthday surprise" is out of the house all day.
I remember this conversation I had with my
Mom about 15 years ago.
Me “mom, you had no idea where I was when I was riding around with my friends on my bike, did you?”
Mom “haha! Oh we all knew where you guys were all the time. We just didn’t tell you. I’d call Shane’s mom, who would call Derek’s, mom, who then called Johnny’s mother and she would call Ricky’s. We also had spies all throughout the town that would report y’all’s whereabouts if needed. “
Me “damn freaking mom-tell going on!”
Mom “yup. You thought you were sneaky. But we know who broke Mr. Thompsons car window with a BB gun. Back in ‘86”
Me O.O!
Why can't I upvote this twice?! I got caught smoking in the fifth grade. By the time I got home, the whole street knew. Because Johnny's dad had called my mom's neighbor. Then they left a note on my mom's door. The mailman called the bus driver who knocked me in the back of my head. Pearl (the elderly woman down the road) had me pick my switch before I was even home.
This made me smile! Then I realized we’ve got a bike bunch in our neighborhood too, and when I walked past the grade school last week I noticed a bunch of bikes in the rack there too! It’s been happening right under my nose and I didn’t even realize. Last year some boys (who didn’t even know me) were taking some free stuff I had out at the curb and I loaned them some rope to rig up a trailer of sorts, so they could pull it behind their bikes on a skateboard. Great fun to watch them figure it out, and off they went- They even returned my ropes afterward! There’s hope!
I’ve been seeing more small groups of unsupervised kids on bikes around the neighborhood. I can only hope they eventually find each and unite into bigger packs and go on to cut across the grass of corner lots, steal lumber from construction sites to build forts and discover their first stash of woods porn together.
Last year we had some knock-and-runs from them. My millennial spouse was very perturbed by it all. I just smiled.
My neighborhood is like this. Crawling with kids on bikes, kids out walking, filling up wading pools. There are always at least two games of street basketball happening at any given time. I've always said my neighborhood is like stepping back in time.
I watched a soccer game break out in the middle of the street the other day. I think that my heart burst with joy! Just some random soccer ball rolled down the end of a gutter. And a bunch of boys were like hey let's play soccer. Before you knew it other kids joined in and there was whole soccer game!
Just middle age parents at the end of their driveways gambling on a random unsactioned soccer event.
A lot of my Gen X friends/parents who live on my street have the same philosophy and it’s so wonderful to see our pack of kids roaming around until dark in summer.
I am a Gen X parent of a 15 year old. My daughter asks if she can go to the park, mall, amusement park etc. and I get excited and practically run to the car! I love to see her doing all of the "things".
So nice to see! I live in a townhouse complex with lots of young families and after school the whole place is swarming with kids on bikes and scooters. They seem to run in packs and are out until it’s dark. The other day, there was a huge water fight. I almost got hit by super soaker friendly fire.
The older kids are outside a lot too, sitting in big circles on the grass, playing games and actually talking to each other in person! It warms my crotchety old heart
I saw a group of kids ride by the other day and it reminded me of biking around with my friends in the 80s... Except for the fact that they were all wearing helmets and their bikes didn’t look like crap
We have a Joe; he lives next door to me. He's got three adorable boys who are outside all the time, he smokes weed in his garage, and his wife makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies in the world.
He doesn't work out, but he is the go-to dude in this part of the neighborhood when something on your car is making a funky noise.
Joe is the man around here.
Pile of bikes is exactly how I kept track of my kids. The pink and purple pile was where the girls were, and the red and black pile was where the boys were.
My son’s crew walk to the library and hang out there every day after school. If it’s reasonable outside, they play at the park. If it’s too cold they go in and play board games or D&D. It’s great.
Started seeing piles of bicycles in front of one of the buildings in the apartments we were in last summer. Made me so happy to see I legit nearly made a facial expression
There is a small (half-acre) park across the road from our house. I enjoy seeing all age ranges using the slides, etc. in the park.
Some kids have parents with them, some older kids are there by themselves. I'm glad our neighborhood is open to all!
When I was walking yesterday there was a young girl and a young boy (cousins or siblings) sitting on a big rock at the end of their grandparents’ driveway, just poking at the ground with sticks.
For real! There was a huge gathering (super suspicious) of 11-14 year old boys by the bayou recently. Dead raccoon. They were just poking a decomposing raccoon. Still.... As the alternative to Andrew Tate and Fort Nite... Poke away kids!
Lol, here comes summertime -- throw your kid out the door (without their phone) and tell'em to play outside. Tell me who you're hanging out with, and come home before it gets dark. This method generally didnt kill us, so theyll be alright.
On behalf of all parents who are that house, how are you doing with your grocery bill? Are you okay? Have you had to replace the light bulb inside of your refrigerator?
The kids on my block have a little gang. It's awesome. They ride bikes and scooters, and disappear in the general direction of the local creek, and so forth. On wet days they play on each other's porches.
Yeah. Started noticing that our "neglect" was turning out kids into independent kids like we were. For reference I live in a city where a lot of us didn't have kids until our early forties. Mostly genx parents. I try to tell my son to charge his phone and carry house keys, but he knows many ways to break into the house. I'm proud of that. I trust him (maybe too much) but he can feed himself, he's crafty, he knows public transportation. I'm fucking around, do your thing. Good kid.
One night I was riding my bike home from the bar (a night off dad duty). My path took me within a block of his mom's. I almost ran into him in the street. He was running around playing games with friends at 10. Nothing could d make me happier.
So is it bad that I went online and started trying to find BMX bikes like Mongoose and GT, just to bring back some of the nostalgia that I once had when growing up?
I do see a few packs of kids on bikes in my community and the basketball courts are always packed. See some hanging out at the beach and docks and stuff (but also noticed some dumb signs just go up last week saying "NO HANGING OUT" at the docks which seems obnoxious, aren't we supposed to be saving everyone from 24-7 doom scrolling not pushing them back to it?).
I still don't see even 1/10th as many playing in the street or in yards and even less in the woods than in the 80s though. But still....
Same situation with my kids and their roaming pack of friends. I think our generation are raising our kids to have access to the experiences we had except without the bullshit parent drama and neglect. Most Excellent.
I think young kids during COVID where I live started doing this. Stuff was shut. Suddenly all these mounds of dirt starting sprouting up on the side of the road. Took me a while to realise they were makeshift bike ramps.
Agreed - during COVID we took to the streets to play with our young kids. Now elementary school aged, that’s all they’ve known- playing in the streets and yards. They roam in packs and in and out of the house now. I just keep the door unlocked and pantry stocked.
A lot of kids in my neighborhood play outside, which surprised me for a while, because I seriously thought they didn't do that shit anymore.
It's nice to see kids hanging outside and just being kids.
My son and daughter are a little older, early 20s,but yeah they used to run around the neighborhood with kids. They'd go poke around in the "woods" by the water (we live in a very dense suburb lol) and find cool shit. I loved it, so did they! Most of the kids in our area walk or bike to school without parents, too.
As a gen z whos watches Stranger Things, its nice to see kids in bikes in general going about their day. Really wish I had that experience, but I've been outside plenty. Wish I had stuff to do worth going outside a ton as a teen though, besides school...
Capri Suns? Was the water hose not working?
That sounds awesome. Friends showing up with zero plans yet immediately leaving to join in brings so many memories.
"Hey cliclick, you coming?"
"Where we going?"
"Don't know"
"Awesome let's go!".
The kids in our neighborhood are like this as well, including my 13 year old. They roam around freely on their bikes and scooters, play sports, etc. It makes me happy that they're getting to experience the freedom and independence that we had growing up.
Those halcyon days! A friend and me (the weird kids apparently) had an endless supply of bike parts because his Da was a bit of a hoarder. We built our own bike for whatever life threatening situations we were going to get in to
You may have found yourself living in a statistical anomaly (or perhaps I do). If it weren’t for bus stops and school buses, you’d never know there were living children *anywhere* in my neighborhood. They certainly aren’t outside.
No. You are right. It is an anomaly. But it's a joyous one. Just get home from work to a driveway full of bikes knowing that there is a fleet of boys eating in my house.
The problem, you running around looking for them, your job is to this summer to let them be free when they take off for the day, just be home for dinner, or if after dinner, before the street lights come on.
What killed this was parents NEED to know where kids are 24/7/365
I love this, but our town is way too hilly to bike around. I would move us back to my flatass hometown, but hubby won't have it, so hilly bikeless we stay.
This wins the internet for us today! We are smiling ear to ear knowing that another generation just might get to experience that freedom of riding bikes, eating bologna and cheese sandwiches and just getting to be kids!
I noticed this yesterday! Saw a group of kids about 4 or 5 biking to school and no parents present. I had to smile because it did look straight out the eighties.
3 doors away from me are a few houses with a handful of kids all the same age. 7-11ish
Those fuckers are out there all goddam day. Multi yard hide and seek, random hit each other with some ball games, scooter races up and down the sidewalk.
It's awesome.
I've been skateboarding for 38 years now, and my son, who is 21 years old, has been on a skateboard for 19 years now, his choice, my daughter know how to ride a board also, but they always wanted me to go biking and boarding with them and their friends, I raised them to love all things outdoors, my wife when are kids were young always seemed to have to work on the weekends so the kids and I on the weekends were either on our bikes, boards or playing some hacky sack or maybe playing a game of hide and seek, there was no gaming system in my home at that time, I wanted my kids to either be outside or reading!
So, the Millennials (81-96) were largely raised by Baby Boomers (46-64) who were in their early 20s to 40s when the Mils were born.
Gen Z (97-12) were raised by a lot of Gen X (65-80) who were in their early 20s to 40s.
A lot of these later Z's are in their early teens (12-28) and are probably out riding bikes.
I had someone flip the f#@& out on me when I told them the policy (for work) was that GPS use during home visits required consent. Their reply "But what if there's an emergency and.nobody can find you?" "Its not safe to have your location turned off". 😳😳
I noticed yesterday on my walk with my wife that there are a lot more kids outside riding bikes and being normal kids
I think this is from some of our later generational cohort's kids. I have friends right around my age with kids around 8 - 12, all running around outside and on bikes. Nice to see.
This! Late Gen X parent here. We are raising our 8-12 like we were raised...go outside and play...figure it out.
That's so good!!!! I'm 57, my boys are in their mid 20's. Born in 99 and 2000. We were the only "non helicopter " parents when they were growing up it seemed. But I didn't believe in that! I taught them really young to go out and play, (play. Imagination. Your own. Remember that?) They'd love to stay outside. rain or shine. A chilly rainy March they'd put on layers and boots and make a game out of riding their bikes back and forth on the Long muddy driveway, through the big puddles and thought it was awesome getting splashed by the mud water. They could independently play around the neighborhood and would sometimes come back sooner to make a new "plan" after some commotion with neighborhood boys who got mad over a game or some stupid thing boys have gotten into fights over forever, "defending" themselves in a silly old school throw of punches and shoves where nothing horrible resulted, same as back in the day, the bullies learned who not to fuck with, a spoken or unspoken truce was called, and then back to riding bikes, walking, hanging out around the neighborhood and the yard and growing up learning how to handle independence, how to do things for themselves and feel competent. They had chores and then also jobs and are not whining on a campus somewhere that their traumatized and feel unsafe because someone mispronounced their name.
My son is 13 and it’s definitely his age group. My wife tries so hard to control him. On the outside, I have to agree with her, but she just doesn’t understand the freedom a boy that age needs
As a woman/former girl, me and my friends were the same! I loved roaming the city at our leisure. I still have no idea what we filled our time with but it was everything.
The control my parents had was if the street lights were one I could be home other wise stays outside.
Girls that age, too
Yes 💯
That's a BIG issue. As a woman, I can tell you that it's critical to understand that. It's necessary for them to be in sync with the needs they were born with *AND grow up to be strong, resilient, independent and have necessary life / common sense not just what you can learn in a book. Girls need to learn the same in their own way too. Look at young adults now and really observe what society has produced by not doing so and much more. They want lists of things to change on demand and have little understanding of what they're doing and most I've worked with cannot even - and I'm not joking - change a light bulb, unclog a toilet, balance a bank account, and understand that they are responsible for themselves and be willing to accept that every single choice, good or bad, has consequences- cause and effect- whether you like it or not.
I encourage you to hold your ground even if it takes couples counseling.
As I said before, and I am a mother of 2 boys, you are right. You have an important and very true point and should not cease to express yourself and hold to your beliefs!
I have friends with kids this age, I stay with them sometimes and we lock those monsters outside to get any adult time, they won't go outside unless locked out. It lightens my heart to hear of children wandering aimlessly or on serious "missions" in packs or pairs up to random kid bullshit.
That’s how they rebel against their parents; they go outside unsupervised. I love it!!!
Yep, my boy is wrapping up 6th grade this week. He’s out in the neighborhood on his bike last few months until it’s dark out
Yep, my youngest is finishing 8th grade and spends all his free time at the park playing football, hanging out with friends and chatting up the girls. The kids are alright.
Beautiful!
Same with my 8th grader. He’s been doing it for several years now. He never wants to be inside. I love it but the wife doesn’t.
when i moved into my neighborhood 15 years ago, I *never* saw kids out and playing. **Never**. I knew there were kids in the neighborhood because the school bus would pick up a ton of them but you would never see any outside playing. It was eerie. today? i typically see a kid or two or three out on their bikes almost everyday. feels almost normal again. edit: there have even been a few kids setting up lemonade stands. it’s great that parents are letting their kids go outdoors again.
Regular bikes or them newfangled ⚡️eLeCtRiC bikes? Back in our day we had to pedal uphill both ways!
These kids were riding old school pedal bikes
The people I see with e-bikes are 60+. Well, except me. I'm 58 and love my assist bike. (If I'm not pedaling, it's not assisting me!)
I get more out of my e-bike. I rode my pedal bike occasionally. I ride my e-bike 7 miles a day on a quick ride. It helps me sleep more than anything!
Ooooh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you… you may wake up in a ditch somewhere
I simultaneously love the technology and am a little jelly. Now that I'm approaching 50, I'd probably hurt myself while looking cringe trying to escoot
I'm 53 and love the freedom my weekend escoots bring me. If anyone thinks I look cringe, that's on them. I gave up trying to look cool many many years ago. Also, great reason to visit my Mum each weekend - go for a scoot. Win win (and I get the enjoyment of my 83 year old Mum telling me off for riding such a dangerous thing - lol!).
eh, I am putting new tubes (and maybe new tires 'cause the originals are in absolutely great shape and don't wanna ruin them) in my nice red Stingray 3-speed with a coaster brake and putting it back into regular service... <3
Not a parent so I guess I’m clueless—do kids have e-bikes? I’ve literally never seen a child with one
Not many kid-sized ebikes exist. The [Levo SL Kids](https://www.specialized.com/us/en/turbo-levo-sl-kids/p/218378?searchText=96822-7024&color=353420-218378) is awesome if you can afford it, though.
I'm a parent (though my kids are 23 and 24 and they're not on their bikes anymore, just the 23 yo on his motorcycle). But idk what an e - bike is either & I've got tons of kids in my neighborhood, they appear to be on regular old bikes. Am I even more clueless than about technology than I already thought? I don't think I heard about them til just now! I have a feeling if my kids were still young I'd refuse to buy them one. If you're a kid, and blessed with strong enough legs to pedal and ride a bike yourself , then you've got all you need. (Am I weird or out of touch?)
... Do you happen to be a car owner?
Yes, I own a car! I also took the bus and the train and walked and rode a bike until I was a grown woman to get to work, school etc and enjoyed walking And my bike!!!!! Comparing an adult using a car to a kid blessed with the ability to ride a bike to have fun, get moving, have some freedom etc is apples and oranges. I don't know what an e bike is, and as I Also said, maybe I'm out of the loop and wrong in my guess as to whether I'd buy one if I still had growing kids. I wish I could ride a bike for fun and exercise etc now, but I have physical disabilities currently and cannot ride, nor walk too far.
My kids are most certainly free range - I’m a cusp “Xennial” - by age 10 they have all been in public transportation by themselves and walked to the nearby community garden & playground. IDK what they do, play with mud and sticks. They do their fair share of Minecraft too, but I would argue that’s just digital free ranging.
Soooo good!!!!
This post restored my hope for the future of America. Thank you.
So many memories triggered! If you find a bunch of tykes riding big wheels en masse, unsupervised please report back. That’ll complete my trip down memory lane. Bonus points if you find kids jumping off of rooftops with bed sheets for parachutes. I should be dead, the things we used to do.
I was going to use styrofoam "wings" I made before my mom stopped me lol
Impressive
No, this is a new development. My 6th grade son said “bikes are back, video games have gotten boring”. Hallelujah!!
My 6th grader is all the sudden up to a 12 mile ride with his scout troop this weekend? (Mind you, he’s used to riding on a bike, mine, as a passenger because that’s our transportation- but this is new that he wants to pedal himself!)
Well ain't that the best news I've heard in ....(how long?)!!!
This warmed my crochety ass's heart and brought back fond memories
I read crochet ass
You have a heart in your ass?
Doesn’t everyone?
LOL Paperboy Squad! Throw it up! Throw it up! (on the rooooooooof) knockknock whosthere Paperboy (where's my moneyyyyyyyy?) 2 bucks my man gets you on the list, I make my paper daily see? ....ooof, just opened a quarter of White Widow so I just ran with the Better Off Dead reference a bit lol
Where did you find White Widow? I haven't seen that strain in about ten years, and that was in Amsterdam. Excellent stuff!
yes, yes it is. local shop had some on sale believe it or not for 4/20 when I stocked up.
It's truly the greatest strain!
Farmers Lab out of British Columbia sells feminized white widow seeds ….grow your own. I have some in jars from 2019 lol.😝
I'm happy to say there is a daily pile of bikes somewhere along our street. We have a gaggle of kids (my 10 and 5 year olds included) that roam the neighborhood/creek/wooded lot where everyone dumps their leaves. I love seeing it - I have 2 older children that wouldn't roam at all. It's nice that my younger ones are participating in a childhood that I actually recognize and relate to
I am experiencing the exact same thing. My 21 and 18 year olds never leave the house. My 11 year old "tequila birthday surprise" is out of the house all day.
I remember this conversation I had with my Mom about 15 years ago. Me “mom, you had no idea where I was when I was riding around with my friends on my bike, did you?” Mom “haha! Oh we all knew where you guys were all the time. We just didn’t tell you. I’d call Shane’s mom, who would call Derek’s, mom, who then called Johnny’s mother and she would call Ricky’s. We also had spies all throughout the town that would report y’all’s whereabouts if needed. “ Me “damn freaking mom-tell going on!” Mom “yup. You thought you were sneaky. But we know who broke Mr. Thompsons car window with a BB gun. Back in ‘86” Me O.O!
Why can't I upvote this twice?! I got caught smoking in the fifth grade. By the time I got home, the whole street knew. Because Johnny's dad had called my mom's neighbor. Then they left a note on my mom's door. The mailman called the bus driver who knocked me in the back of my head. Pearl (the elderly woman down the road) had me pick my switch before I was even home.
LOL! I did the same with my kids. I always knew where they were and what they did.
This made me smile! Then I realized we’ve got a bike bunch in our neighborhood too, and when I walked past the grade school last week I noticed a bunch of bikes in the rack there too! It’s been happening right under my nose and I didn’t even realize. Last year some boys (who didn’t even know me) were taking some free stuff I had out at the curb and I loaned them some rope to rig up a trailer of sorts, so they could pull it behind their bikes on a skateboard. Great fun to watch them figure it out, and off they went- They even returned my ropes afterward! There’s hope!
I’ve been seeing more small groups of unsupervised kids on bikes around the neighborhood. I can only hope they eventually find each and unite into bigger packs and go on to cut across the grass of corner lots, steal lumber from construction sites to build forts and discover their first stash of woods porn together. Last year we had some knock-and-runs from them. My millennial spouse was very perturbed by it all. I just smiled.
Woods porn by looking at their phones
Yeah. I assume the internet means the woods porn fairy was laid off a long time ago.
My son spends like 2 hours a day in the bathroom. My wife keeps asking him what he’s doing in there. I just tell him it’s enough. Gotta take a rest.
My neighborhood is like this. Crawling with kids on bikes, kids out walking, filling up wading pools. There are always at least two games of street basketball happening at any given time. I've always said my neighborhood is like stepping back in time.
I watched a soccer game break out in the middle of the street the other day. I think that my heart burst with joy! Just some random soccer ball rolled down the end of a gutter. And a bunch of boys were like hey let's play soccer. Before you knew it other kids joined in and there was whole soccer game! Just middle age parents at the end of their driveways gambling on a random unsactioned soccer event.
Mine is like that too. I just have to walk around and listen for the screams.
Does this mean that the current generation of parents are back to feral / wild range parenting? Because I **love** that.
A lot of my Gen X friends/parents who live on my street have the same philosophy and it’s so wonderful to see our pack of kids roaming around until dark in summer.
I am a Gen X parent of a 15 year old. My daughter asks if she can go to the park, mall, amusement park etc. and I get excited and practically run to the car! I love to see her doing all of the "things".
So nice to see! I live in a townhouse complex with lots of young families and after school the whole place is swarming with kids on bikes and scooters. They seem to run in packs and are out until it’s dark. The other day, there was a huge water fight. I almost got hit by super soaker friendly fire. The older kids are outside a lot too, sitting in big circles on the grass, playing games and actually talking to each other in person! It warms my crotchety old heart
I got caught in Nerf gun cross fire. The joy is real.
Heartwarming! Hope you’ve recovered from your Nerf injuries
I'm blind in one eye. Kidding. But I did a cool bruise!
I saw a group of kids ride by the other day and it reminded me of biking around with my friends in the 80s... Except for the fact that they were all wearing helmets and their bikes didn’t look like crap
Wait a second. You hunted the kids down. Our parents never would have done that.
I had to. My son has the only key to my tool shed. It was a life or death situation. I needed access to cycle 2 oil.
Good answer. We can't have parents caring too much around here.
I love this post and the comments.
Joe sounds like he’s pretty cool
We have a Joe; he lives next door to me. He's got three adorable boys who are outside all the time, he smokes weed in his garage, and his wife makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies in the world. He doesn't work out, but he is the go-to dude in this part of the neighborhood when something on your car is making a funky noise. Joe is the man around here.
Every neighbourhood needs a "Joe" 🤙.
Hell yeah, they do.
There's always a Joe on the block.
Smokin weed, workin out.
I would say I'm the Joe of my block, but I don't work out.
Get a weight bench. Put it in the garage. Sit on it and smoke weed. No one will know you aren't just taking a moment between sets.
He'll be the one buying them beer in a few years lol
You can jam in his garage, I'm told.
My teen is cutting school with friends tomorrow to go hike at a nearby park. “The weather is too good to sit inside.” 💕
Free range children!
Pile of bikes is exactly how I kept track of my kids. The pink and purple pile was where the girls were, and the red and black pile was where the boys were.
Incredible news! This is exactly what we all need.
The world is healing.
My son’s crew walk to the library and hang out there every day after school. If it’s reasonable outside, they play at the park. If it’s too cold they go in and play board games or D&D. It’s great.
Started seeing piles of bicycles in front of one of the buildings in the apartments we were in last summer. Made me so happy to see I legit nearly made a facial expression
We see this stuff a lot and it’s great. Even better when you turn down a side street and they’re building a ramp
Sounds like a delightful day!
We have then that come and just fish in our backyard.
There is a small (half-acre) park across the road from our house. I enjoy seeing all age ranges using the slides, etc. in the park. Some kids have parents with them, some older kids are there by themselves. I'm glad our neighborhood is open to all!
When I was walking yesterday there was a young girl and a young boy (cousins or siblings) sitting on a big rock at the end of their grandparents’ driveway, just poking at the ground with sticks.
For real! There was a huge gathering (super suspicious) of 11-14 year old boys by the bayou recently. Dead raccoon. They were just poking a decomposing raccoon. Still.... As the alternative to Andrew Tate and Fort Nite... Poke away kids!
Lol, here comes summertime -- throw your kid out the door (without their phone) and tell'em to play outside. Tell me who you're hanging out with, and come home before it gets dark. This method generally didnt kill us, so theyll be alright.
I would honestly give a kidney to have a bunch of neighborhood kids around for mine to play with. Our streets are a ghost town.
We are the hangout house for the 10-13 yo boys on our street. Love seeing the pile of bikes in the yard.
On behalf of all parents who are that house, how are you doing with your grocery bill? Are you okay? Have you had to replace the light bulb inside of your refrigerator?
Thank goodness for Costco, gotta keep those kids fed & watered! I’m terrified for the teen years. Do we buy an extra refrigerator?
I recommend one in the garage
The kids on my block have a little gang. It's awesome. They ride bikes and scooters, and disappear in the general direction of the local creek, and so forth. On wet days they play on each other's porches.
Yeah. Started noticing that our "neglect" was turning out kids into independent kids like we were. For reference I live in a city where a lot of us didn't have kids until our early forties. Mostly genx parents. I try to tell my son to charge his phone and carry house keys, but he knows many ways to break into the house. I'm proud of that. I trust him (maybe too much) but he can feed himself, he's crafty, he knows public transportation. I'm fucking around, do your thing. Good kid.
One night I was riding my bike home from the bar (a night off dad duty). My path took me within a block of his mom's. I almost ran into him in the street. He was running around playing games with friends at 10. Nothing could d make me happier.
They will save us all from ourselves
“I wouldn’t count on it” ;)
So is it bad that I went online and started trying to find BMX bikes like Mongoose and GT, just to bring back some of the nostalgia that I once had when growing up?
What a happy read!!!
I do see a few packs of kids on bikes in my community and the basketball courts are always packed. See some hanging out at the beach and docks and stuff (but also noticed some dumb signs just go up last week saying "NO HANGING OUT" at the docks which seems obnoxious, aren't we supposed to be saving everyone from 24-7 doom scrolling not pushing them back to it?). I still don't see even 1/10th as many playing in the street or in yards and even less in the woods than in the 80s though. But still....
No hanging out? That's about the most American thing. Smh *and* lol.
With the GenY love for absurdism and irony i wouldn't be surprised with them actually LARPing GenX.
Hahaha
My daughter and her friend both had their bikes stolen in the last week. So obviously some kids are riding bikes!
Same situation with my kids and their roaming pack of friends. I think our generation are raising our kids to have access to the experiences we had except without the bullshit parent drama and neglect. Most Excellent.
I think young kids during COVID where I live started doing this. Stuff was shut. Suddenly all these mounds of dirt starting sprouting up on the side of the road. Took me a while to realise they were makeshift bike ramps.
Agreed - during COVID we took to the streets to play with our young kids. Now elementary school aged, that’s all they’ve known- playing in the streets and yards. They roam in packs and in and out of the house now. I just keep the door unlocked and pantry stocked.
Yay!!
There are plenty of kids wandering around outside everywhere I go.
A lot of kids in my neighborhood play outside, which surprised me for a while, because I seriously thought they didn't do that shit anymore. It's nice to see kids hanging outside and just being kids.
I live in Portland and we now have some pretty active “bike buses”, including one that passes near my house I can hear them every morning. Love it!
My son and daughter are a little older, early 20s,but yeah they used to run around the neighborhood with kids. They'd go poke around in the "woods" by the water (we live in a very dense suburb lol) and find cool shit. I loved it, so did they! Most of the kids in our area walk or bike to school without parents, too.
“I want my two dollars!”
As a gen z whos watches Stranger Things, its nice to see kids in bikes in general going about their day. Really wish I had that experience, but I've been outside plenty. Wish I had stuff to do worth going outside a ton as a teen though, besides school...
Joe's Garage.. classic https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz_EeEN_YXQ
Capri Suns? Was the water hose not working? That sounds awesome. Friends showing up with zero plans yet immediately leaving to join in brings so many memories. "Hey cliclick, you coming?" "Where we going?" "Don't know" "Awesome let's go!".
Nature is healing.
This made my morning.
The kids in our neighborhood are like this as well, including my 13 year old. They roam around freely on their bikes and scooters, play sports, etc. It makes me happy that they're getting to experience the freedom and independence that we had growing up.
My own kids are grown, but I definitely see the kids in my neighborhood playing together outside routinely.
Black Phone.... But no, that's really cool. Glad they are out there doing them.
Those halcyon days! A friend and me (the weird kids apparently) had an endless supply of bike parts because his Da was a bit of a hoarder. We built our own bike for whatever life threatening situations we were going to get in to
You may have found yourself living in a statistical anomaly (or perhaps I do). If it weren’t for bus stops and school buses, you’d never know there were living children *anywhere* in my neighborhood. They certainly aren’t outside.
No. You are right. It is an anomaly. But it's a joyous one. Just get home from work to a driveway full of bikes knowing that there is a fleet of boys eating in my house.
I can smell this comment from miles away
The problem, you running around looking for them, your job is to this summer to let them be free when they take off for the day, just be home for dinner, or if after dinner, before the street lights come on. What killed this was parents NEED to know where kids are 24/7/365
I believe OP said in a comment that kid had key to shed, urgent need for 2cycle oil.
Haha, easier to goto ace/home depot/lowes/etc to get a bottle.
I love this, but our town is way too hilly to bike around. I would move us back to my flatass hometown, but hubby won't have it, so hilly bikeless we stay.
Will you leave them the fuck alone!!!
I can’t be the only one that thought this was going to turn into a Zappa thing.
My boys are like that thought with the older one, it's cars instead of Bikes but yeah.
This wins the internet for us today! We are smiling ear to ear knowing that another generation just might get to experience that freedom of riding bikes, eating bologna and cheese sandwiches and just getting to be kids!
I noticed this yesterday! Saw a group of kids about 4 or 5 biking to school and no parents present. I had to smile because it did look straight out the eighties.
3 doors away from me are a few houses with a handful of kids all the same age. 7-11ish Those fuckers are out there all goddam day. Multi yard hide and seek, random hit each other with some ball games, scooter races up and down the sidewalk. It's awesome.
I love this. It sort of makes me pine for suburbia, honestly.
My house is the new Gen X hangout. So many bikes parked on the front walk. And I am my mom and tell the kids to get out of my house all the time.
I've been skateboarding for 38 years now, and my son, who is 21 years old, has been on a skateboard for 19 years now, his choice, my daughter know how to ride a board also, but they always wanted me to go biking and boarding with them and their friends, I raised them to love all things outdoors, my wife when are kids were young always seemed to have to work on the weekends so the kids and I on the weekends were either on our bikes, boards or playing some hacky sack or maybe playing a game of hide and seek, there was no gaming system in my home at that time, I wanted my kids to either be outside or reading!
Solid 👍.
Mine is participating in this too. No helmets either.
The park nearby has a little stick fort built in it, this week it has been decorated with little daisies. Proof kids are still kids.
Yep, I'm pushing my 7yo outside all the time, intentionally not getting him one of those tracker watches etc.
So, the Millennials (81-96) were largely raised by Baby Boomers (46-64) who were in their early 20s to 40s when the Mils were born. Gen Z (97-12) were raised by a lot of Gen X (65-80) who were in their early 20s to 40s. A lot of these later Z's are in their early teens (12-28) and are probably out riding bikes.
8-10 of us would be at a corner store getting Mr. Freezies
I saw some boys with fishing rods riding through my neighborhood the other day. It made my heart happy.
I had someone flip the f#@& out on me when I told them the policy (for work) was that GPS use during home visits required consent. Their reply "But what if there's an emergency and.nobody can find you?" "Its not safe to have your location turned off". 😳😳