Selfsufficientish.com

Modern life poisoning childhood

What irritates me about this is the way parents and wider society want the "authorities" to do something. How about actually being parents and doing something themselves?

As I'm sure most here know by now (yep, I'm a mouthy sod ), we refuse to let our oldest do the worksheets and other meaningless homework set by school; he takes healthy packed lunches to school while the children around him eat Ryvita, muffins, Jaffa cakes, crisps and chocolate spread sandwiches; we do not have a games console; the boys play outside in all but the very worst weathers; and their exposure to TV is very limited.

Thinking about it, our boys are brought up like this because we are very involved with them. We don't lavish them with the latest fashions, toys and gadgets, then hope they'll quietly disappear. Instead, we give them time and interest.

Anyway. have to go now as the Wee 'Un is now finished in the bathroom and we're off outside again.

and yet you are the 'strange' one..long live the strange ones is all I can say

Exactly!!! Although we are guilty of the games console thing - it is limited and much time is spent reading, playing out, doing useful stuff, cutting and sticking, talking, creative writing (my daughter is a fantastic poet) - anything other than being stuck in front of the goggle box.
As for packed lunches - although we make every effort to be as healthy as possible, crisps were part of lunch - until recently - we've now replaced then with freshly made pop corn. This has proved so popular that the kids have asked me to make extra cos their mates want to buy it from them!! A simple, cheap, healthier option - but how many will have thought of it!
Couldn't resist it - I just had to put my daughters nightmare poem in!!

Dark in the Night
Dark in the night
Where the bugs bite
Every night you look out of your window
And see a flashing light.
You look down your feet,
And feel a little weak.
You see a black cat tap on your window.
You switch on the light.
See a vampire sucking your teddy.
Where’s the blood?
He gives you to a witch
Who turns you into a frog.
Hear the werewoves howl,
My Bootsie growls.
A ghost mumbles.
Then my tummy grumbles!
See a shadow shake.
Am I asleep
Or am I awake?

we have a games console too and pc of course but I don't worry to much about them as my children don't want to use them all the time and also enjoy reading, drawing, crafts, playing outside.... if they were the type to want to sit in front of the tv all day I would worry and start limiting them

yeah, we're the odd ones

I think we're teaching kids a load of essentially useless "skills" - the years to come will not be an easy time for anybody, and self-reliance will be a very necessary attribute to even survive - most kids nowadays are being schooled to be "consumers" - when the lights do go out (as they inevitably will), they will be like the hens in a battery house - caught without power, their world will collapse very rapidly.
There was a great deal wrong with the scouting movement, but it did mean kids of my generation could put up a tent, could find dry firewood, and could cook from basic ingredients, and were safe to wander around with a large sheath knife on their belts! Most modern kids would curl up and die without their mobile 'phone and junk food!

Martin wrote:There was a great deal wrong with the scouting movement,

Anything particular Martin? Can't say I've ever found it to be particularly lacking. Admittedly it was a bit 'WASP' but that was the predominant make-up of society in previous generations.

Anna x

unfortunately it was in some places a bit of a haven for scoutmasters who liked nothing better than toying with their charge's woggles!
And it was very militaristic, especially with the uniforms, and "parades" - but as you say, it was pretty par for the course way back then. All that apart, it meant that kids were taught to make fire safely, and to be safe in it's use - instead of "playing with matches", they were learning you can do without them - how to dig a simple latrine, how to leave your campsite pristine when you left it, and not set fire to the nearby woods with the campfire!
It taught a maturity too - I mentioned the sheath knives purposely - they were what would now be deemed an "offensive weapon", but in those days were used for lots of whittling, cutting string, and sharpening pencils - the thought of even "pointing" a knife at anyone was unthinkable - it was something "you just don't do" - a knife was seen as a badge of maturity - you are deemed mature enough to be safe with a necessary tool. Doubtless h&s are reaching for the smelling salts, but it did work - there were very few accidents, and kids were a lot more responsible!

the forest schools are trying to put a bit more of the "survival" instinct back into children - cooking near open fires, using knives etc, staying out in the woods under constructed shelters, etc, but it is a rarity rather than the norm, and schools have so many boxes to tick and such little time to do it in, that outdoor skills are seen as a luxury, and a special interest rather than anything of worth.

Didn't the scout movement have a heavy christian leaning aswell? Could put some off (me included), but if scouts existed without the bible bashing and kiddy fiddling, mine would be there as soon as he's old enough. As it is, it's hard enough to get him to come IN doors! Even when we're freezing and want to curl up with crisps and TV, he's content to be dipping his hands into water containers and dig up the garden

Susan

funkypixie wrote:

Martin wrote:There was a great deal wrong with the scouting movement,

Anything particular Martin?

"Centipede" Reid, my Scoutmaster back in the '70s, was later convicted of sexually abusing and then murdering two boys. He was a complete creep.

My father, who was the District Commissioner at the time Reid was my Scout leader, was convinced he was dodgy but unfortunately could never get any evidence on him.

When it was all over the press a few years later that he'd been convicted of abusing and murdering two boys, we weren't surprised. It was just such a shame that no one could catch him out before that.

A Scout leader in another town I lived in was also a sexual predator. I'm not going to mention when or where as it's still very sensitive, but he did get caught and convicted.

I had a lot of good times in the Cubs and Scouts over many years, but unfortunately it used to be rather too easy for anyone who appeared "respectable" to become a leader. Both the men I mentioned appeared solid, pillars of the community types to many adults - most kids, though, tried to avoid them.

I'd still let our boys join the Scouts but for one issue - religion. I've tried to find out what the Scouts Association's current policies are given that the Scout Movement proclaims both strong Christianity and a welcome to people of all faiths. There's a lot of sectarianism in my background, so I've asked a few questions of the association and been promised answers by the Faiths and Beliefs Adviser - but never received any.

So, I'll keep teaching them what I know and find other opportunities for them to socialise, learn new skills and have varied experiences.

Martin wrote:Doubtless h&s are reaching for the smelling salts, but it did work - there were very few accidents, and kids were a lot more responsible!

I have fond memories of building a coracle and paddling it across a fairly deep and fast creek; building rafts from 44-gallon drums, trees and rope - then taking them out on a lake; building flying foxes that reached fantastic speeds because they went downhill; and trying to avoid the so-called "cooking" of some of the other Scouts. I can't see Health & Safety allowing any of those - particularly the latter with the improperly cooked chicken curry...

we never did anything that exciting in the guides!!

I left when they took us to 'camp' and insisted that we had to sleep in the village hall because 'you're girls and girls don't sleep in tents'. By that age, i wzs most proficient at putting up my tent in wind, rain and snow, and the dark, and i was most upset that i wasn't allowed to sleep in a tent. I preferred it to sleeping indorrs (still do actually...maybe that explains my desperate want fora tipi!).

I wanted to learn the things that the scouts did, but the girls weren't allowed (we leanrt how to make a cup of tea...and peppermint creams). they didn't even teach us how to find wild foods, or make jam!!

My memories of being in the girl guides are great... we did go on camp, we did light camp fires, and a bit of wind and rain didn't put us off. We did make peppermint creams too tho lol - but very good point that they didn't teach us to forage.

I don't remember too much religion being pushed at us way back then, even though my guides was attached to the catholic church - well ok we did the armistice parade thing, oh, and we went to see the Pope in Cardiff... but oh, ok, I'll just shut up

the most we were taught foraging wise was that dock leaves cancel out a nettle sting.

Your guides sounds much better!!

I went to guide for a while but found it boring and girly didn't go camping or go foragaging or anything like that but we did make cakes and learn to sew our badges on. the hall it was in was always freezing too

I was a Rainbow and Brownie leader, in the Guides and a Venture Scout for many years and I enjoyed it all!

We camped (even in the Guides), learnt about fires and knives and foraging and had bloody good fun too!

In Venture Scout we did of Duke of Edinburgh and I learnt about putting tents up in the dark with no light and using a methylated spirits stove (I hate them!!), I can navigate, map read, got my first First Aid qualification with them and had a whale of a time.

So, ok, I had to do the church parade once a month and some of the Christian stuff, but it wasn't so bad. I had more problems swearing my oath to the Queen than a God I didn't believe in.

It's a shame that the Scouting/Guiding movement has had so much bad stuff happen to it, more kids need to get out more and do stuff rather than sitting on their arses eating junk and playing on their consoles.

I remember watching Neighbours when I had my tea and then playing outside every night, even in the cold weather. I mean playing as well, not hanging round outside Spar or on the park with a gang...

Oh dear, I sound like my mum now....