[PLUG-TALK] Arduino vs. Other Kid Toys

[Rich Shepard]

On Fri, 2 Dec 2011, Keith Lofstrom wrote:

> And then there were the tunnels in the back yard, dug with my mother's
> spoons.  Taking the kids to the drive-in to see "The Great Escape" did not
> bolster the marriage, either.

> Sticks, strings, and boxes might have been safer, though there
> was that time ...

   Keith's survival as a kid mirrors that of many of us (ahem!) 'mature'
guys, yet we'd not be allowed to be the same boys today. Instead we'd be put
on Ritalin, Prozak, or other medication after being diagnosed with ADHD or
some other disorder.

   Everyone over the age of 50 with whom I've had this discussion feels the
same way, Kids being kids exploring themselves and seeking boundaries are no
longer accepted. Instead, parents allow them to be medicated into placidity.
Feh!

   I grew up in midtown Manhattan without back yards (well, they were
concrete and filled with junk for the most part), but Cenral Park was a
half-block away. I climed rock formations and trees that made my mother
nervous; she kept telling me, "If you fall and break your leg, don't come
running to me!" But, somehow I survived. There is a herd of pre-teen boys in
my immediate neighborhood who climb my neighbor's tree (two of the boys live
there), and other big trees on the edge of the neighborhood park. Good for
them!

   How did so many of us survive to adulthood unmedicated when we did stupid
and dangerous things? Why can't today's boys be allowed to do the same
stupid and dangerous things without being diagnosed as deficient and
medicated?

Rich