When Children were Children
Today a child’s life is another story
By Sharon Hopper 

Wow! School is out and summer fun is supposed to begin. I say supposed to begin because today children have to be watched constantly to avoid the maniacs that are out there. I am so glad that I grew up in a much calmer atmosphere. 

To begin with many days I left home in the late morning, went to the beach and came home at suppertime. No one with me but my friends and other beach bums. That was how we referred to the people who came and laid out in the sun day after day without getting wet except from a spray bottle or some kid wanting to be funny. You see I lived in a place called Rye Beach for several years. It should have been called rock beach because there were many small stones and rocks on the beach and many more in the water and they hurt your feet. There was a pier that was built as a breaker for the waves that jetted into the water about 150 feet and beyond that an underwater jetty that was supposed to break up some of the power of the waves. Now if you know anything about Lake Erie you know that the waves can be very powerful and downright dangerous. The group of kids that I hung with all day were very adept swimmers and we never touched our feet on that rocky beach. We just used the jetty and pier as our entry into the lake and our diving board. On rough days we tubed the waves and that my friend was a touchy situation. We really had to look out for one another. I never stepped foot into a swimming pool except when I went to church camp. 

I can’t imagine a parent feeling comfortable leaving their children at a public beach day after day in this day and age. Won’t happen and I am not sure that one would not be charged with child endangerment in this day. When did the world become so wicked? I often wonder what happened in society that has promoted such cruel and hateful human behavior. Or could it possibly be that kids were far more aggressive and protected themselves better than they do today? Just maybe we protected ourselves better because we were in the world independently far more than the kids today. Summer was at the beach during the day and “kick the can” at night. It was rarely controlled activity, overseen by a staff of coaches and parents. But today… is another story. Maybe the television is the biggest culprit in creating this season of humans acting without conscience for one another. Maybe the murders, rapes, and overall creation of fear in our society is the result of many years of people watching others doing such evil tasks, promoting the unstable to be brave enough to try the bad deeds just for the sake of doing them. I for one am so glad I am not a child today. I was free to be a kid and explore the world around me without fear. I never once was in fear of being stolen. Being given away another story but stolen? The days of being free as a child to explore the areas around us are limited at best. Today a child’s life is another story and I am not sure it is a good one. What happened to a kid being a kid?