Children should experience this ...

[kickoff-time]

So my son's friend, about 9, said he had never been to a circus (and not the LeBron kind) in his life.

I thought it was kinda sad and wondered what else every kid in America should experience at least once despite religious, moral, cultural or other differences they or their parents might have or things in your childhood that are now banned.

Another one that immediately came to mind was trick-or-treating and Halloween costumes. They are banned from our kids' school even for kindergartners because of political correctness or something similar.

 

[Baron Scicluna]

I've always thought that every kid should see the Harlem Globetrotters play. I'm hoping to take my kids next winter.

 

[Piotr Rasputin]

You ever . . . been to the circus?

 

[kickoff-time]

You ever . . . been to the circus?

Yes that is on my list ... Every kid should get a talkin' to from Peter Graves. Alas, he died earlier this year, so now it really is Mission: Impossible.

 

[spnited]

I actually saw a group of kids playing Wiffle Ball in the street the other day.
Imagine, suburban kids playing ball in the street with no uniforms, no parents, no coaches, no structure. Just fun.
What a concept!

 

[Buck]

They could get hurt.

 

[novelist_wannabe]

Parents who love them, care for them, protect them. Anything else is just variations of those three.

 

[HanSenSE]

I actually saw a group of kids playing Wiffle Ball in the street the other day.
Imagine, suburban kids playing ball in the street with no uniforms, no parents, no coaches, no structure. Just fun.
What a concept!

What, no particiation trophies? You mean they might (gulp) lose?

(blue font for safety purposes only)

 

[LongTimeListener]

The sense of freedom I had riding my bike to school or to a game/practice is something my kids will never experience, alas. A large part of that sense of freedom was that I was able to come home an hour or two later than I was supposed to, and the Police helicopters weren't out looking for me.

Regarding the start of the thread, however, I took my kids to the circus a few years ago and it was one of the most depressing experiences you could imagine.

 

[kickoff-time]

The sense of freedom I had riding my bike to school or to a game/practice is something my kids will never experience, alas. A large part of that sense of freedom was that I was able to come home an hour or two later than I was supposed to, and the Police helicopters weren't out looking for me.

Regarding the start of the thread, however, I took my kids to the circus a few years ago and it was one of the most depressing experiences you could imagine.

Just curious why the circus was so depressing? My kids had a blast and it seemed to bring a sense of wonder to them. They talked about it for a while, especially the motorcycle daredevil - yeah I know imagine subjecting my kids to such danger - and it was a lot cheaper than say Disneyland, which is an entirely different thread.

Kids in our neighborhood rides their bikes to school in a group, but I know what you mean.

 

[joe_schmoe]

experience a drive-in movie and a ride in the back of a station wagon or even a pick-up truck.

 

[Stitch]

I actually saw a group of kids playing Wiffle Ball in the street the other day.
Imagine, suburban kids playing ball in the street with no uniforms, no parents, no coaches, no structure. Just fun.
What a concept!

I remember playing sandlot baseball in junior high. The dimension reminded me of the L.A. Coliseum.

Also remember riding in the back of pickups as a little kid. Or just being allowed to roam a pretty wide area as long as I didn't cross main streets. We had everything in that square mile.

We were spoiled in my suburb of Phoenix. The city sponsored summer rec programs at all of the schools, and we could get bussed to the swimming pool every day, go to the driving range once a week, plus go bowling and roller skating on a regular basis for a buck. Hardly saw my parents during the summer, even with a stay-at-home mom.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Another one that immediately came to mind was trick-or-treating and Halloween costumes. They are banned from our kids' school even for kindergartners because of political correctness or something similar.

School isn't the place for costumes. It's a complete distraction. My wife's school doesn't do costumes on Halloween, and it has nothing to do with "political correctness." There's a time and a place for Halloween costumes, and it's at night between 5 and 7 or 6 and 8, or at a Halloween party. Not school.

Also - not kids, but there is nothing more annoying than adults wearing Halloween costumes to work. I always dread going to the office that day because it makes me feel like I work in a total Mickey Mouse business.

Love the post on wiffle ball, though. My brother and I and the neighbor boy used to play it for hours on end in the backyard. When we got a little older, we would instead play home run derby (real balls and bats) at the Little League field. If we had enough kids together, we'd actually play real games. Right field out.

 

[JackReacher]

Is it possible to post on this thread without sounding like Spnited?

Costumes are a distraction at school? Not when I was in school they weren't. And where I grew up, kids can still safely ride their bikes to and from school and/or practice. Depends on where you grew up.

How old is too old to play wiffle ball?

 

[Dick Whitman]

Is it possible to post on this thread without sounding like Spnited?

Costumes are a distraction at school? Not when I was in school they weren't. And where I grew up, kids can still safely ride their bikes to and from school and/or practice. Depends on where you grew up.

How old is too old to play wiffle ball?

We played in college all the time.

 

[Flying Headbutt]

You're never too old for wiffle ball. However it becomes less fun when you realize you hit the crap out of the ball and it just dies in the air. I think all wiffle balls have a governor on them that keeps them from travelling as far as they should. Of course, that did help growing up when I'd pull one into the woods behind my parent's house. It didn't help when I'd turn around and hit left handed and try to pull it on top of my parent's house in right field.

 

[Twoback]

So my son's friend, about 9, said he had never been to a circus (and not the LeBron kind) in his life.

I thought it was kinda sad and wondered what else every kid in America should experience at least once despite religious, moral, cultural or other differences they or their parents might have or things in your childhood that are now banned.

Another one that immediately came to mind was trick-or-treating and Halloween costumes. They are banned from our kids' school even for kindergartners because of political correctness or something similar.

Never been to a circus. And I'm 50. Don't think I missed anything. Don't wanna go.
My dad took me to a ton of ballgames -- MLB, HS football, HS hoops, etc. Couple of NFL games, as tickets were harder to get. Even a rodeo once.
Never a circus. Totally cool with that.

 

[Dick Whitman]

You're never too old for wiffle ball. However it becomes less fun when you realize you hit the crap out of the ball and it just dies in the air. I think all wiffle balls have a governor on them that keeps them from travelling as far as they should. Of course, that did help growing up when I'd pull one into the woods behind my parent's house. It didn't help when I'd turn around and hit left handed and try to pull it on top of my parent's house in right field.

We would hit it toward our two-story fraternity house. If you put one through the upstairs bathroom window, that was a grand slam AND a case of beer. Hit the house over the point where the siding changed and it was a double. Over or onto the roof was a home run.

Oh, and to answer the original question:

(1) Going to the Fourth of July parade.
(2) Hitting an over-the-fence home run in a Little League game.

 

[britwrit]

School isn't the place for costumes. It's a complete distraction. My wife's school doesn't do costumes on Halloween, and it has nothing to do with "political correctness." There's a time and a place for Halloween costumes, and it's at night between 5 and 7 or 6 and 8, or at a Halloween party. Not school.

What does it matter? There's not going to be any jobs left when they grow up anyway.

 

[spnited]

Is it possible to post on this thread without sounding like Spnited?

Costumes are a distraction at school? Not when I was in school they weren't. And where I grew up, kids can still safely ride their bikes to and from school and/or practice. Depends on where you grew up.

How old is too old to play wiffle ball?

There is no such thing as too old to play Wiffle Ball.