I live in a large apartment complex consisting of over seven large buildings. In the winter time, I think I've seen one group of kids playing in the snow.
It's unreal. When I was young, if I wasn't outside playing or something... my parents thought I was sick or something was wrong.
I lost my Boba Fett action figure in a sandbox once. Not sure how, but I remember looking for hours lol.
Not really. Parents are overprotective about everything nowadays.
Man the sandbox? Dude.... When I was a kid, if be gone the ENTIRE day. Hell, there was times where it looked like my mom was disappointed to see me when I came home too early.
Now? Parents will call the cops if they see a group of kids by themselves. It's unreal.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Oh man, I remember sandboxes and Tonka trucks.. The dump truck, the road grader etc.. what a great memory.
To answer your question, no, I haven't seen may kids playing outside anymore. Except out in the country by my wifes uncles place.. They still play outside a lot because the parents don't buy them video games, cell phones etc. They have to make their own fun like I did as a kid.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
I literally used to play basketball/football/baseball/etc with every kid in my neighborhood (ages 10-16) for the entire DAY during the summer.
Gosh, I wish I could turn back the clock haha
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Jeudy is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Tillman is flanked out wide to the right. Judkins and Ford are split in the backfield as Flacco takes the snap ... Here we go."
As part of NSF International’s ongoing NSF Scrub Club™ handwashing public service campaign, our microbiologists set out to find out where germs hide in schools and other public places. Teaming up with Real Simple magazine, NSF’s experts swabbed key surfaces in local schools, grocery stores and other public places
Although not all germs are harmful, the existence of germs on the tested surfaces indicates that there are favorable conditions for microorganisms to grow and survive, which could create an environment for disease-causing viruses and bacteria, such as E. coli and Salmonella. In other words, the higher the level of bacteria, the higher the probability that some of those bacteria are harmful.
The Results
As part of this study, NSF microbiologists swabbed 26 different public places, testing for the level of aerobic plate count (APC), also known as the general bacterial population, at each location. Our team found that the location that harbored the highest level of bacteria was a playground sandbox, revealing a combined count of 7,440 aerobic bacteria, yeast and mold per gram. Sandboxes are an ideal setting for bacteria, as they are not only exposed to wildlife, such as cats and raccoons, but they can also hold on to bacteria that is left from human contact, such as saliva, food items and other bacteria from human hands.
Baylisascaris procyonis is a parasitic roundworm that is endemic in raccoons. Tierno told CBS News that the worm lives in the intestinal tract of raccoons and produces thousands of hardy eggs that are shed in the feces. "In one study, the eggs were placed in formaldehyde for days and they survived," he said.
The roundworm is found in most places that raccoons roam, which tend to be the same outdoor places where children play. A 2009 study found that more than 50 percent of backyards surveyed in the suburbs of Chicago contained raccoon poop. Another 2009 study documented Canada's first case of raccoon roundworm encephalitis -- a serious brain infection -- in a 7-year-old boy. "The child often played in an open sandbox in the backyard and had a habit of putting his hands in his mouth," the study reported. "... soil from the sandbox contained B. procyonis eggs."
Human infection with the worm causes Baylisascariasis, which can affect the brain and spinal cord, the eye or other organs, depending on where the larvae migrate. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), symptoms of infection usually take a week or so to develop and may include nausea, fatigue, loss of muscle control or blindness.
Toxocariasis
Toxocariasis is a parasitic infection caused by the dog and cat roundworms Toxocara cani and T. cati. It is considered by some researchers to be the "most common human parasitic worm infection in the United States."
A 2013 study in the journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society presented a review of toxocariasis and stated that Toxocara eggs are found in sandboxes because those are areas frequented by stray cats and dogs. Studies have found toxocara eggs in rates ranging from 0.3 percent in public parks in New Jersey to 39 percent in sandbox samples in Kansas.
According to CDC, many people who are infected with toxocara do not display symptoms or get sick. When children do develop symptoms, they may include include cough, abdominal pain, headaches and behavioral or psychiatric problems.
Toxocariasis is an especially significant problem in developing countries and low-income neighborhoods. A 2014 editorial in JAMA Psychiatry suggested that toxocariasis might be partially responsible for the achievement gap in U.S. neighborhoods in extreme poverty where rates of roundworm are high.
Toxoplasmosis
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that is transmitted through the feces of cats. Young and outdoor felines are most likely to carry the parasite toxoplasma gondii, also known as T. gondii.
ap1604012214355776.jpg Cats can transmit roundworms and toxoplasmosis. FRANK ELTMAN, AP T. gondii produces an infectious form of the parasite inside of the cat called oocysts, which are excreted by the animal in litter boxes, gardens and sandboxes. The oocysts can then be picked up by children during play.
Toxoplasmosis causes flu-like symptoms in children and can cause birth defects when pregnant women are infected -- which is why pregnant women are advised not to handle their cats' litter boxes.
There is also some research linking the parasite to a higher risk of mental disorders including schizophrenia and outbursts of anger.
From what I gather from walking around my neighborhood, yards mostly exist to do yard work. The kids are probably inside playing video games, watching TV, etc. Occasionally I see a kid outside shooting hoops or riding his bike around. As far as large groups of kids playing baseball or tag or whatever.. it just doesn't happen, not around here anyway. It's sad.
To be fair, once you start going at mine craft, you'll mess around and 3-4 hours gone by.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Oh man, I remember sandboxes and Tonka trucks.. The dump truck, the road grader etc.. what a great memory.
Before skateboards, we used to ride Tonka trucks down hills. I was in a mountainous area from 5-10, so I was always in the woods, climbing trees, scaling rocks and rock walls on the base, finding old ammo, skeet traps, rope swings, hunting for crawdads in the streams. One of the funnest times was after an ice storm, when we used the various concrete gutters for ice slides. We used to climb over the rock walls to sneak out of the base, and hang out at the lakes all the time. I'm not so sure if I was kicked out of the house every day, or just left the house because it was boring. I can't tell you how many times I got road rash for seeing who could make it down the big hill first on their bike, or fell off the water tower. We also used to find lost golf balls and put them in the cannon barrel, as it was aimed at the officers club. I'm fairly sure they would all fall out the breech when the loaded it.
Oh man, I remember sandboxes and Tonka trucks.. The dump truck, the road grader etc.. what a great memory.
...hunting for crawdads in the streams.
I grew up in the country farmland of NW Ohio. I remember catching frogs, crawdads, and creek chubs (minnows) in the streams all around our area. We used them as bait for catfish and bass fishing. Now those creeks have no frogs, no crawdads, no minnows. They're earily dead waters. It sad that all the farm run off is so toxic with chemicals that the creeks hold no aquatic life. But hey Monsanto says it's safe for human consumption so eat up.
Don't get me wrong, chemicals in the waterways are a bad thing. I have a ditch (that's what we call them here) across the road from my house.
There are fish in it. Not big ones. There are also minnows. My yard is full of crayfish/crawdads. Pond also.
The Maumee river, where all ditches around here eventually drain into, is full of fish. It's also, after a heavy rain, full of sewage. And the Maumee drains into Lake Erie. Municipal water treatment facilities can't handle an onslaught of water, and when it happens, they pump raw sewage into the river. Toledo, Napoleon, Defiance - all the way back to Ft. Wayne.
Farmers ARE doing a much better job at handling/avoiding/dealing with run off. Perfect? No.
Regardless, I grew up with a sand box. Had little John Deere tractors, etc - had the tonka trucks and loaders, etc.
Our box was right by a field. One year, after the corn came up, I pulled an ear of corn, took of the kernels, and "planted" them in my sandbox. Imagine my surprise when they started growing!!
Germs? For a healthy person, exposure to germs is actually a good thing - to an extent. (and yes, some are bad no matter what) Just as using your muscles builds muscle, using your immune system helps your immune system.
It seemed you were asking about the lack of sandboxes. It seemed relevant.
I believe that it is relevant but not in a good way. In todays society, it seems there's a phobia of any germs or bacteria. From anti bacterial soap to an incessant need to use hand sanitizer. It's as if overnight germs have suddenly appeared and people are terrified of them.
I remember when I was a kid that when one friend got chicken pocks the moms would actually get all of the friends together just so they all got it over with at the same time.
IMO- the fear of germs is actually a negative. When the body isn't exposed to germs and bacteria, we never allow our immune system to build up any resistance.
I understand that the intentions are noble, they just aren't natural. And I believe we may be doing more harm than good by becoming such a Germaphobic society.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I agree. I was pointing out that there are a lot of public warnings about sandboxes today that parents who get most of their parenting advice online wouldn't have been exposed to when most of us were growing up.
I also think it's stupid that we have a chicken pox vaccine.
IMO- the fear of germs is actually a negative. When the body isn't exposed to germs and bacteria, we never allow our immune system to build up any resistance.
Related but not exactly the same thing, doctors are now encouragin parents to introduce peanut-containing foods earlier rather than restricting, as peanut allergies have increased significantly since warnings about feeding peanuts to young children were made on a regular basis.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Don't forget that we desperately need to address the helium shortage ..... because otherwise, how will comedians make those funny, high pitched voices ......
(and yes, at least that one was a joke on his part)
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
No, I only spent 2 years in Guam, and I was 3 when we got there. I spent the next 5 in Ft. Ritchie, MD, where I had to find my own dirt.
The sand in Guam was dangerous mostly due to what you couldn't see in the sand. Any cut could cause blood poisoning on that island.
Guam is not a sandbox. It's a mix of sandy beaches, mountains, thick jungles, saw grass, hidden gun placements, and forgotten ammo. I actually lived on top of a cliff on base. I still remember the waves breaking over the cliff in a Cat5 typhoon. It was really cool, as the eye passed right over us, and us kids got to go outside for about 2 hours before the other side of the eye hit. We had blue skies in the middle of a typhoon.
man i swear to god any of us could do a better job then some of these guys in the house right now.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
He was talking about the military moving more forces to Guam - a few years back. He was afraid that with the troops, and equipment, and maybe family - ......well, you watched it.
i dont think he knew what he was trying to do with his hands
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Doubt it. It wasn't that special to me. My memories of Guam consist of a typhoon, plants that closed when you touched them, the boonie bee, having my first beer at a pig roast on the beach, thunderstorms every day at dinner time, almost drowning at Talofofo falls, geckos everywhere, and watching navy personnel get drunk. I can't say I really liked or disliked it, as I was rather young.
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