Streets with No Kids

The past few times I've been out in the middle of the day with my kids I've noticed something eerie. Someone has taken all the children! There are slow-moving elderly people, college kids in pj pants, working women in stiletto heels and business suits, and young moms with babies. But there are hardly any kids older than four.

What is happening? Who stole all the children?

Oh, yeah. The institutionalized school system did. For some reason, it really struck me how odd it is for our society to be so age-segregated. We've taken the children and locked them up all day. We've sheltered them from people of all ages, and instead stuck them in rooms filled with only children who were born in the same year. We've convinced ourselves that the best way for children to become socialized is by learning from their peers.

Because of that, our streets are empty. Adults don't even know how to feel about children anymore, because we spend so much time away from them. We view them as burdens, messing up our personal goals and desires. We look forward to the time we can lock them back up in their age-rooms. The separation makes it easy to overlook their bad behavior and their bad behavior makes the separation easier.

We are so used to being separated that certain cities are even now making daytime curfews for teens. Before child-labor laws, which were good and necessary to an extent, children were capable producers in soceity. Now they are simply hazards who cannot function unless surrounded by their peers.

Eerie.

1:54 PM - Mar. 26, 2009 - post comment

I feel the same way

When I'm out with the kids (anywhere) and see parents with children, I almost always approach them to ask if they are homeschoolers! It is so sad to see the family disintegrated like it is today. The only up-side to no kids in your neighbourhood is that it's easier to handle your own kiddos and any fights that might break out. You're not worrying about bad influence from some little unsupervised kid biking full-tilt towards your own kids!

Sheri aka kitchenmaid - 9:28 PM - Mar. 27, 2009

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i can not figure out how to change it from anonymous to my name. i do not even know how i found your site but i wanted to comment on your where are the kids post. we struggle with the same thing. some of my homeschool friends will not even take there kids out in the day. i love taking the kids out but people stare at them like they are alliens because they are not in school or they ask them a thousand questions. nothing like a pop quiz from a complete stranger. www.trooppetrie.blogspot.com

Anonymous - 9:29 AM - Apr. 17, 2009

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