By Eileen Spatz
Oh, the racket! Every single day since mid-March the children in the neighborhood have been out in force. At all hours of the day I hear them skateboarding, riding their scooters, riding bikes, and generally expressing a great deal of gleeful joy.
And I envy them terribly.
These kids who experienced the pandemic firsthand will never, ever forget the summer of 2020. They have basically been in a 6-months-long summer vacation, and have never seemed to tire of all this outdoor fun. Sure they can be noisy. Sometimes I even hear scuffles and tears when some drama occurs. But these kids are being… kids! In fact, observing the neighbor kids during this “lockdown” actually brings to mind the old days, you know, like the “Leave it to Beaver” type old days.
Sure, the kids still might spend some time on video games, but based on the hours and hours they are spending outside playing, I guarantee you it isn’t much. And I for one think that is awesome. For years I have lamented the fact that kids hardly ever played outdoors anymore. Kids had become totally addicted to their tablets, TV, and video gaming consoles, which is so unhealthy. Well our quiet, empty streets in the neighborhood are not so quiet anymore! Who knew we had so many little kids living here?!
I confess to sometimes becoming a tad annoyed when I hear their joyful shrieks or their practicing skateboard ollies right beneath my window while I attempt to work. For us grow-ups who are long past our childrearing days, the constant noise and activity can get old sometimes. But mostly, I just smile at them.
During the pandemic these kids have managed to discover real playtime. Not overly scheduled “activities” piled on thick by well-meaning parents, just unscripted, creative playtime. They play with squirt guns, they host lemonade stands, they make forts, they catch lizards, they decorate the pavement with colorful chalk art. And I just love it.
I notice more and more parents gathering outside with other parents—and, okay, maybe they could space themselves a bit further apart—eating pizza and chatting while a dozen kids frolic. This brings to mind memories of when we were raising young kids in our first little home in a kid-infested neighborhood. It was just like this, parents outside visiting while the kids played. To this day, we parents—and many of those kids—are still close friends.
Back then, there were no video games—all the kids had were those clunky VHS Disney movies. If they wanted to play a video game it was an arcade game at the local pizza place. As well, parents were not glued to their stupid smartphones, ignoring their kids while scrolling through their Instagram feeds. While we boomers cannot claim to be better parents than today’s millennial parents, back in the late 80s through the 90s we may have more present - but only because smartphones had yet to be invented.
I have a feeling that, in seeing their children gleefully soaking up the spring and summer days of 2020, parents may be a little reticent about the kids returning to pre-pandemic past-times, at least in some measure. After all, most of these parents grew up in the 80s/90s and know all about the wonders of playing outside, barefoot and free, and truly enjoying their childhood. As for me, post-pandemic, I will be a little sad when I no longer hear the sounds of kids exuberantly squealing outside my window, even if I will be able to think more clearly.
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