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My 2 cents on this;
1. The comment on kids growing up to fast or being to mature earlier....I see kids that act more mature in every day situations, but from my perspective they are still very immature emotionally. They very much lack skills that are developed during the maturing process. Now I must say that kids education is much more accelerated today and that may be a large contributing factor to this perception that kids are growing up faster.
2. Having 4 boys oldest 23 youngest 16, we had our share of ER visits. I think a lot of what young parents deal with today is more than just over protection or helicopter parenting. 2014 is a very different time that the mid 70's. The number of crazies out there that are preying on children compared to earlier days is exponentially higher. What toys were popular back then are very different that of-today and this has helped in keeping kids inside instead of playing outside. At least we still have organized sports programs.
My wife and I have already decided that when the grand kids come to play it will be outside play. But we will facilitate that to make it appealing to them. Living on 10 acres in the country with a pond and a pool. There will be an abundance of outside things to do that will make them want to be outside. Go Carts, 4 wheelers, dirt piles, sand boxes, animals,etc....You can't tell a child to go out an play when their friends aren't outside for them to play with and the majority of their toys are "screen time" based. In my opinion these types of toys may be teaching some skills but they are actually robbing kids of developing skills such as problem solving, creativity, conflict resolution.
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