When I was single digits, I used to ride in the back of my Dad's pickup truck while he whipped around corners and pumped the brakes at random intervals trying to knock me down. The 80s were different
Fond memories of icy winter streets and hookybobbing behind vehicles at 10-15 mph
“I was quick when I came in here, I’m twice as quick now”
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
When I was single digits, I used to ride in the back of my Dad's pickup truck while he whipped around corners and pumped the brakes at random intervals trying to knock me down. The 80s were different
We would tandem some GT snoracers with rope to the back of the youth van and go flying down snowy roads , I still dunno how we are alive.
Jesus Christ, GTs are dangerous enough on their own, how did you not Final Destination this
My parents had this big squishy foam booster seat for my sister which I would sit in when available until I was at least six or seven, because it was incredibly comfortable. It was like being hugged.
astrobstrdSo full of mercy...Registered Userregular
I used to explore abandoned buildings and storm drains when I was 6-10. Parents were very stupid in general in the 80’s. I was just generally known to be “outside” for 30% of any given day.
I used to explore abandoned buildings and storm drains when I was 6-10. Parents were very stupid in general in the 80’s. I was just generally known to be “outside” for 30% of any given day.
I also walked to school, alone until I had some friends, then in a group of just kids, from when I was like 7 or 8
I read about how the increase in all these safety factors is making kids too risk averse now as a side effect. like there are no more monkey bars on a lot of playgrounds because kids might fall and hurt themselves.
when I was a kid there was a bunch of them on the playground including one really difficult one that had a V shape incline/decline on it. it was the pinnacle of kid aspirations
I've been on a true crime kick lately and the number of cases from the 70s 80s & 90s that start with something like "she was a normal 12 year old who was hitchhiking to the beach" is just, lordy.
KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
My parents didn't lock the front door in my hometown, unless we were leaving on a trip.
We walked to and from school every day, a little under a mile.
One time at age 12ish my parents had me take a Greyhound bus from upstate NY to Boston, and a local bus from there to a Boston suburb to my grandparents' house. I still don't know how I managed that one without getting lost/taken. Didn't even have a cell phone.
I read about how the increase in all these safety factors is making kids too risk averse now as a side effect. like there are no more monkey bars on a lot of playgrounds because kids might fall and hurt themselves.
when I was a kid there was a bunch of them on the playground including one really difficult one that had a V shape incline/decline on it. it was the pinnacle of kid aspirations
There are definitely still monkey bars
A lot of modern parks use foam instead of sandboxes though, which is better for impact and probably a thousand times more hygienic than "oops, fell into a pile of used glass"
I read about how the increase in all these safety factors is making kids too risk averse now as a side effect. like there are no more monkey bars on a lot of playgrounds because kids might fall and hurt themselves.
when I was a kid there was a bunch of them on the playground including one really difficult one that had a V shape incline/decline on it. it was the pinnacle of kid aspirations
Other changes may be leading to increased risk aversion in kids, I don't know. But playground changes definitely do not. A lot of 'safer' play structures just meant kids had to get creative to have their thrills, making the new structures even less safe. So many places are going back to improving some of the better older equipment
I read about how the increase in all these safety factors is making kids too risk averse now as a side effect. like there are no more monkey bars on a lot of playgrounds because kids might fall and hurt themselves.
when I was a kid there was a bunch of them on the playground including one really difficult one that had a V shape incline/decline on it. it was the pinnacle of kid aspirations
There are definitely still monkey bars
A lot of modern parks use foam instead of sandboxes though, which is better for impact and probably a thousand times more hygienic than "oops, fell into a pile of used glass"
When I was eight years old I took a flight on a plane by myself from Oregon to Pennsylvania. There was even a layover. It's kind of amazing to think about now.
they might still exist but there has been a definitely move to phase out both monkey bars and high slides. I believe australia in particular has had a big push to remove them from playgrounds
we had gravel to comfort our falls
Jars on
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KalTorakOne way or another, they all end up inthe Undercity.Registered Userregular
We had pea-gravel in our school playground, one of those wooden ones built in the 80s that everyone recognizes when a picture makes the social rounds.
I read about how the increase in all these safety factors is making kids too risk averse now as a side effect. like there are no more monkey bars on a lot of playgrounds because kids might fall and hurt themselves.
when I was a kid there was a bunch of them on the playground including one really difficult one that had a V shape incline/decline on it. it was the pinnacle of kid aspirations
Other changes may be leading to increased risk aversion in kids, I don't know. But playground changes definitely do not. A lot of 'safer' play structures just meant kids had to get creative to have their thrills, making the new structures even less safe. So many places are going back to improving some of the better older equipment
Risk aversion seems to be a cultural shift all over.
I know it’s likely personal bias, but it really seems that essentially all the previous generations didn’t give even half a shit about human life.
I think we've definitely seen a huge cultural shift on that in just the last hundred years. There was a palpable "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" attitude even a couple of generations ago. The first World's Fair had a startlingly huge death toll.
Honestly I think the biggest reason playgrounds and shit are getting safer isn't because people are being safety-minded for the sake of the kids, so much as doing it because it's much cheaper than being litigated. A kid at my elementary school got a compression fracture on his C6 or C7 (or both) falling off the top of the jungle gym, onto the concrete-ass ground beneath it, and his parents decided to sue the school for exactly his medical costs.
Nowadays were that to happen, that school would be shouldering a 7-digit lawsuit versus $25k.
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MaddocI'm Bobbin Threadbare, are you my mother?Registered Userregular
I don't think my parents ever considered litigation for the times I fucked myself up when I was a kid
It's not a coincidence, holding companies responsible for the harm they cause was a huge part of the post-war labour and environmental movements. The playground safety thing is kind of a trickle down beneficiary.
Used to be a chemist could blow half a dozen bystanders to smithereens with a new sort of extra explosive gun cotton and that would only secure them numerous production contracts
a lot of our sensibility of death comes from the declining infant mortality rate. go back a few hundred years ago and you have the church telling people not to love their children because half of them are going to die as infants.
LasbrookIt takes a lot to make a stewWhen it comes to me and youRegistered Userregular
Talking about unsafe car rides made me think of some fond memories I had riding in the bed of a truck as a kid and teen. Lying in the back late at night watching the sky and stars pass by was a surprisingly chill experience.
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Fond memories of icy winter streets and hookybobbing behind vehicles at 10-15 mph
-Indiana Solo, runner of blades
Jesus Christ, GTs are dangerous enough on their own, how did you not Final Destination this
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A cousin of mine once liberated a tray from a McDonald's, put wax on it, and slid down a snowhill on it like a toboggan
Cracked his collarbone clean through
He survived and is a paramedic now!
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I used to climb trees to go play on people's roofs
We're talking like two, three story houses and apartment buildings
every adult there was totally fine with this situation
when I'd lose my key, I'd climb up to my window which I kept unlocked for exactly this situation
it was cool until my neighbor saw me and told my parents. narc.
I also walked to school, alone until I had some friends, then in a group of just kids, from when I was like 7 or 8
I feel like this isn't done much anymore
when I was a kid there was a bunch of them on the playground including one really difficult one that had a V shape incline/decline on it. it was the pinnacle of kid aspirations
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We walked to and from school every day, a little under a mile.
One time at age 12ish my parents had me take a Greyhound bus from upstate NY to Boston, and a local bus from there to a Boston suburb to my grandparents' house. I still don't know how I managed that one without getting lost/taken. Didn't even have a cell phone.
There are definitely still monkey bars
A lot of modern parks use foam instead of sandboxes though, which is better for impact and probably a thousand times more hygienic than "oops, fell into a pile of used glass"
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Other changes may be leading to increased risk aversion in kids, I don't know. But playground changes definitely do not. A lot of 'safer' play structures just meant kids had to get creative to have their thrills, making the new structures even less safe. So many places are going back to improving some of the better older equipment
Can’t forget the cat poop!
we had gravel to comfort our falls
Especially if you could get hold of a ball and carry it to the top and drop the ball in like you are playing 3 dimensional plinko
Risk aversion seems to be a cultural shift all over.
They took it down after about 3 weeks because it was too awesome.
yeah like this could be a big dummie thought from me but if we had national healthcare wouldn't injury lawsuits be less of an issue?
I think we've definitely seen a huge cultural shift on that in just the last hundred years. There was a palpable "play stupid games, win stupid prizes" attitude even a couple of generations ago. The first World's Fair had a startlingly huge death toll.
Nowadays were that to happen, that school would be shouldering a 7-digit lawsuit versus $25k.
That jungle gym I mentioned up thread? Just concrete under it. No rubber.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2021/05/02/caitlyn-jenner-says-she-opposes-transgender-girls-competing-girls-sports/
Privilege: still a hell of a drug
Fuck Caitlyn btw
First, there was traitor. And that was bad.
Then, there was class traitor. And it was only good if rich people did it.
Then there was race traitor. And it was only good if white people did it.
Then there was sex traitor. And it was only good when men did it.
And now, introducing... the trans traitor! It's bad, and no, cis people can't do it.
That's disgusting. It's covered in piss.
This lines up with my experience in elementary school yes
Steam
and I have to vigorously scratch my suddenly itchy entire body.