Street Urchins

I've said this before - in our neighborhood, kids still play in the street.
Not that I ever really played in the street.  I did ride a bike and play in the driveway, but I never had a neighborhood of urchins to hang out in the street with.

The above photo is of one urchin spraying the other urchins with a shook up Coke.  It all started with a science experiment (2 liter of Coke and Mentos) that didn't explode as well as they wanted it to.  So they moved on. 

See how happy the urchins are?  Why are they so happy?

Because they are allowed the freedom to be kids.  We don't bubble wrap our kids; we don't sniff the wind before letting them tiptoe outside; we don't yell about the dirt and mud (okay, we do but that doesn't stop the urchins); we allow them to run in the rain and splash in the puddles. 

And play in the street. 

At the end of July, a couple with a strollered baby came down to our end of the block; they lived at the other end and I had met the woman before.  They were inviting people to their church and being the polite person I am, I played social.  Then the husband said to me "Um, are you aware that your children are in the street?"

I smiled.  "Yeah, they're riding their scooters and bikes."

"Well, I mean, the cars around here come around the corner pretty fast.  They don't slow down.  Aren't you a bit worried about your kids?"

I smiled.  A little forced this time, but in my head, I reminded myself that this person was trying to be a good, Christian person and offering some parenting advice.  I explained that yes, we knew that and that was actually the reason why we teach our kids street smarts right off the bat - older kids look after the younger ones and everyone knows from the toddlers on up that when someone yells "car", you get on the curb and wave at the driver as they pass (ensuring that the driver knows that you see them and aren't going to dash out in front of their car). 

I had to smile for real when I hear the neighbor girl yell "car" and I pointed to the street and said "see?"

He wasn't convinced.  And he looked it.  So I went on to reassure him that in general, the kids do run across the street and back and forth and ride their bikes and scooters in the street, but that there was usually a parent paying attention somewhere.  I mean, it's not like we parents are napping down on this end of the block.

"Well, actually, there are a lot of times when I drive by and those kids, especially the two little ones, are running around and there is no parent to be seen." 

I smiled.  "Have you ever just pulled your car over and counted how many seconds the small kids are in the street without a parent watching?  Or even looked inside the garages or on the front porches or the front windows to see if an adult was around?  Do you not count the teenagers as able babysitters? I bet if you slowed your car down and paid attention, you'd see an adult ready to throw a baseball at your speeding car."

I did not say that.

I did, however, try to reassure him that if he didn't see an adult outside, that meant someone ran in to stir dinner or go to the bathroom.  Or that the kids are simply going from one house to the other. 

He was not convinced still as he walked away; it was obvious by the look on his face that we are NOT good parents.

And I didn't say this either but boy howdy, it is the reigning joke on our end of the block where 17 kids play together (in the street apparently) in relative harmony - you call DHS on me, I call DHS on you...fair's fair.

Oh wait.  How could this photo have been taken if there's NEVER any adults around when the urchins are in the street?  Oh snap.