I would not want to grow up in this day and age. A statement which makes me appear extremely old and clearly out of touch I suppose. I don’t think my childhood was idyllic, don’t get me wrong, but I do think there was much about it that was easier then growing up today.
I think the thing that I envy the least about being a young person today is the lack of time to spend thinking, playing and imagining. I see young kids who are so constantly over-stimulated that their brains cannot tolerate one second of not being entertained. Gone are the days when we had to actually just sit and behave ourselves, with only our minds to occupy our time. Now kids have cell phones and iPods and nintendo DS and at home they have movies on demand and Xbox and Playstation and Wii. Sure it’s fun, and sure it’s entertaining but where is the person in all of this constant stimulation? How are kids supposed to learn about themselves and their environment and their place in the real world when the world that they spend much of their time in is virtual.
Technology was supposed to free us from our daily tedium so that we could focus on making our world and our lives a better place. Technology was supposed to allow us to cure diseases and create a safer world. To some degree technology is doing that but for young people it isn’t freeing their minds, it’s confining their minds and limiting who they are and how they cope in the world.
When I was a kid my fondest memories are of spending time with my “cousins” and best friend – Jackie, Theresa, Robin, Patty and Kristina. There was no technology beyond washing machines, televisions and kitchen appliances but we didn’t long for things to be easier or more entertaining. We spent our time making up games and skits and playing outside together in all kinds of weather. We went camping and fishing and learned an appreciation for nature. We fought and got mad and made up and laughed. We learned to work together. Our parents didn’t care that we were kids, we were required to pitch in and help with chores and any other manual labor. We were all girls but they never treated us like “girls”. They expected us to pull our own weight and they weren’t interested in our complaints. We learned to be resilient and self-sufficient. We learned how to get a long in the real world.
When I became and adult and had my own kids I moved to a very rural area – which hasn’t been the most fun for me – to give my children the opportunities that I had to play outside and run around and ride bikes and experience nature. They loved it when they were little, hated the lack of entertainment when they got older but are now learning to really appreciate the quieter pace of life. I never bought them video games and they didn’t have cell phones until they could drive. We did have movies but didn’t watch much television. Both of my children are artists and I’m not sure they could have truly developed had they been so distracted by all the technology most kids have today. They are young adults and now of course have been sucked in by the need to have and answer text messages in some frenetic manner nearly 24 hours a day. It saddens me.
I wish for this generation that they could unplug themselves and take some time to go outside and just play. I wish they could get to really know each other and feel a common connection that might prevent them from bullying their peers and feelings of despair. I wish that parents would recognize the damage being done and take a stand for the sake of their kids. Where are the wild things? The little wild things that are free to just be kids? Where have they gone? I look around and wonder and think of their lost childhoods and wish I could take them on a camping trip with a bunch of rowdy, silly girls and let the wild rumpus start.
M.
Unbound 
My mother would love this article! I really admire you for making the sacrifice to move in order to give you children a more fulfilling childhood. Growing up, we had book, book, and more books in our house. I spent every minute I wasn’t reading outside playing and was occassionally allowed to watch PBS or CareBears. And I’m 22 now. It’s still possible to raise imaginative kids who can entertain themselves, but I think it’s increasingly hard. I have two yougner siblings (20 and 16), both of whom spend way too much time with thier electronics. I’m terrified of the day I decide to start a family for this very reason. Great post!
Thanks Erin – yes I will be writing about my love affair with books in another post. Good for your mom…just remember if you decide to have kids that you are the parent and go with your instincts. There is a lot of pressure on parents to “do what all the other parents are doing” but you have to resist that . Thanks for reading! 🙂
Oh Michelle,
What memories we have! I too try to balance, with my kids, technology with just being a kid. I live where I grew up for that very reason. My boys have and are growing up with their cousins because I have such fond memories of growing up with my “cousins”. Great blog! It sure brings it all back. I was hauling wood down from our barn today and feeling all moutain womany and realized that if I took my kids wood cutting or really roughing it camping, I think they would have a coronary. When my kids tell me in the summer that they are bored because I only allow technology 3 days a week, I tell them good, that is when it gets interesting. I always enjoy reading your words. Thank you. P.S. You should come camping with me this summer and we can have a wild rumpus like the old days.
Theresa – it really is my favorite part of my childhood and I am DEFINITELY in for camping. Just let me know the dates and I will get on a plane and come camping with you. I really mean it, it would be the best! 🙂
Mickey,
What a lovely tribute to our childhood. I am warmed to hear that I’m not the only one who longs for those by-gone days of having to find something to do, lest our mothers find something for us to do! I have often reminisced about sitting in our front yard after school on Friday afternoons, staring for hours at the tiny view of the highway… waiting to see the cars that would be transporting the Mackintosh’s and Poe’s from the Bay Area for a long weekend or an extended camping trip. The anticipation was nearly unendurable, but the payoff would come the moment that those cars pulled up the driveway, bearing not only our favorite cousins, but also gifts of frosted cookies from The Nut Tree. We all knew that The Wild Rumpus was about to begin!
I am fortunate to have been able to raise my girls (and now my baby boy) in the very same place that I grew up, amidst the pines and apple trees, just a hop, skip, and a jump from the rivers, lakes, and rugged mountains where we used to hike, sleep, and imagine, as youngsters. Over the years, as I’ve observed my girls scaling the granite slabs, skipping rocks in the lake, and building campfires with pine cones and scraps of wood they’ve gathered around the forest, I have become increasingly grateful that all has not changed. Granted, we don’t have cable television, so there’s no “reality” t.v. to compete with, but none of us is immune to the attractive video games, text messaging, and social networking that have smothered our society these past years. Balance is the key, isn’t it? We all enjoy checking in with friends online, but the real pleasures, the real smiles, the real laughter, the real living, and the real memories, are created when our family is engaged with each other and with nature. There is something about the sound of the breeze in the aspen trees, the smell of a pine forest after a summer thunderstorm, the stillness of snowfall, and the sublime taste of a burger cooked over a wood fire. There will never be substitutes for those experiences.
We were the luckiest generation, without a doubt. Our parents didn’t have it nearly as good as we did, and we really have to strive to give our children the opportunities that we had. And I don’t mean financial opportunities…I mean taking the time to make nature a priority. To plant seeds, to get warm soil under their fingernails, to love animals and water and sunshine. And there’s no greater gift to our children than giving them the opportunity to roll in the dirt, construct an awesome fort, or fetch a pail of water.
Thanks for writing about such a meaningful time in our lives. I wish we could do it again and again, all of us.
Love,
Robin
Thank you so much for responding Robin. It truly is the best part of my childhood. I envied the Noble kids because you were able to grow up in an area that was so beautiful and so peaceful. We didn’t even grow up in the same area but our shared experiences were so meaningful that I have always felt connected to all of you even when I haven’t seen you in years. I believe that those memories will live in the recesses of my mind and I know that even when I am very old those memories will keep me young.
I am so glad that your children have been able to experience those wonderful parts of our childhood. It must give you great joy to share your love of nature with them.
Much love,
Michelle