IS CHILDHOOD BECOMING OBSOLETE?

Do you ever wonder if childhood is becoming obsolete?  Seriously, with all the new age parenting and the government’s regulations on everything from what we eat to what we are allowed to play with to the litigation factor and lawsuits popping up over jungle gyms, monkey bars, tree houses and lawn darts, it seems as though parents are being more and more involved in what their kids are eating, what their kids are doing outside, and how their kids are experiencing life!  Not that I am suggesting parents shouldn’t be involved…of course they should.  But seriously, have we gotten a little over zealous in controlling every little move our kids make?  Heck, they can’t even have a lemonade stand anymore without the city zoning commissioner getting involved! 

It concerns me that I never hear phrases anymore like: “I fell out of my bunk bed last night.”  Or “I got a tummy ache because I had too many bowls of ice cream.”  I don’t know when was the last time I heard a little kid tell me, “I flipped off the monkey bars and had to get some stitches.” 

My kids went through each of these events and then some.  But it seems more and more we are becoming paranoid parents, almost wrapping our children up in bubble wrap and exposing them to a world of nothingness and no adventure or imagination whatsoever.  Yet, we think they are safe because they are sitting in front of the computer or television playing video games.  Have you really seen what goes on in some of those video games?  I'm pretty sure that is NOT good for our kids.

Shouldn’t their little hands smell like lightening bugs?  Would it really be the end of the world if they sold $3.00 worth of watered down lemonade without a permit?  And if they color a picture of Jesus and take it to show and tell is that really something that will bring down the nation?  Okay..maybe I’m getting a little extreme, but come on.  Where has common sense gone these days?  We aren’t protecting our kids with this silliness, we are depriving them of one of the greatest parts of life…being a child!