Do you remember when you were young and you and your friends gathered together and played every single day in your neighbor’s yard or if you were lucky and lived on a dead end street, in the street! And what was most amazing wasn’t that every child for miles around showed up and played together. Nope, it was that the kids decided what game they were going to play and jussssst what the rules were going to be and there wasn’t an adult anywhere to be seen! And I lived in a neighborhood just like that. Unfortunately or fortunately our neighborhood was made up of lots of boys and just one girl, me! And the other good thing was that we had a really big side lawn by your house, a big backyard with tons of apple trees and what I thought was a big wonderful river running through it And my mother only had one rule. and that was that when the boys played in our yard, they had to let me play too. Naturally I was younger than any of them except one. But I loved them all even when I had to go home covered with cuts and bruises. But there was no game that I didn’t learn to play, tree to climb or password that I didn’t know so I could go into a secret fort. My childhood with my friends was fun and we played together every single day until the street lights came on and then we knew it was time to go home.

What about the children of today? Do you ever see groups of children, gathered together, without an adult deciding what games they should play? And once they get them organized the same adult makes the rules and then umpired the game and if the kids are really lucky, the adults won’t be playing. Truthfully I can’t imagine such a thing. Poor Kids

Learning how to play with friends with no adult supervision is only one of several things that drives me crazy! If you have the time, sit comfortably and watch how some children interact with adults. They are rude and they say and do whatever crosses their minds. They don’t say Thank You or excuse me and should they want to go somewhere other than where they are, they will push and shove right in front of you and not say a word. The children of today aren’t taught manner or how to behave. The only thing that they are taught is that they are the center of attention! And what is sad? they really aren’t taught how to play with other kids. If they were allowed to play together without an adult making the rules you would find that these same children could be pleasant and well behaved.

What do you think? Is it worth a try? If you are worried about your angel playing outside, alone with other kids, sit on the porch and watch, just don’t play with them or interfere

You will be very surprised at how happy and good they are!