Why are we not dead?
I mean, really! We were not protected at all… not the way we protect our kids. We didn’t have helmets, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards. We spent all day outside without checking in. There were no cell phones or pagers.
I grew up in a neighborhood that was almost surrounded by woods. We spent entire days in those trees, building forts and tree houses. There was a creek at one edge of the neighborhood and on hot summer days we would find a deep enough “hole” and swim in the muddy water.
All of the kids pitched in to build a tree house in our yard. It was triangular and three stories high. In warm weather, it was our outside home. We slept up there several nights a week.
We left the house in the mornings and spent all day on our bikes (no helmets, of course) coming only to grab some lunch unless one of the moms brought some out to us. At supper time we finally went home, only to head back out again after dark for a game of kick the can. Our parents had to force us to come in to take a bath and go to bed.
We didn’t worry about sunscreen or insect repellant. Sun burn and mosquito bites were just a part of summer. With all of the time in the woods and in the creek, we should have worried about copperheads and water moccasins and poisonous spiders. Hundreds of ticks were removed at our house alone. We had bumps and bruises and scrapes and broken bones, yet we are all still alive.
Now, kids have play dates, sports and lessons. Parents have to know where they are at all times. They are covered in SPF 50 at all times and a complete set of body armor if they are going to be near anything with wheels.
Do we worry too much or is the world a more dangerous place now? Are the kids having as much fun now as we did? Are we too protective? Our parents weren’t and we are still here. Although, after all that we did, I still don’t know why.