I suppose it is to be expected that when 'old grandpa' spends a week with a half-dozen grandkids, he will naturally come away having those reflective comparisons of yesteryear versus today. I am aware that many unfortunate societal changes have America's youth(today) robbed of 'outdoor free-play' because parents are no longer 'free-of-fear' when a child is away from their sight.
I began playing my 'sandlot' youth games from morning until night every summer when I was perhaps eight years old. I honed athletic skills in baseball and basketball while knocking heads with neighborhood and even city wide competition. Don't get me wrong, my parents required me to 'check-in' at the noon hour and be home for supper at five o'clock; between times no questions asked and seemingly no great safety concerns. Today, for valid reasons and documented events, parents have every reasons to hold tight to the reigns of children movements and whereabouts. It is a sad commentary of our times.
Our three adult children and their spouses have provided handsomely for fifteen grandkids and one great-grandchild. There is no doubt that my grandkids have more material things than did their grandparents at those respective years. Certainly they went on vacations sooner and experienced sport skill tutoring which was foreign to my generation.
My wife never 'took' a vacation as a child; her family did not even own an automobile...get the picture. She and I will agree that we never thought for a moment growing up that our families were poor; we knew some poor people in East St. Louis; we were NOT poor!
After pondering and comparing youth, my youth to that of my grandchildren growing up times, I conclude that my grandchildren have been, for the most part, victimized and deprived. Oh, how I wish that I could 'give' them my youth experiences.
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