"Even Cold Kids Get "It"

         

                  Hello to you from your frozen “intrepid reporter” from Manhattan. A few posts back I wrote a piece about NYC’s Stroller Nazi’s.  They still exist but are not out in force during the recent cold sieges. But this time I want to turn the coin over and talk about how good the parents seem to be in this city. I see parents’ everyday with their kids and they do a great job. Let me tell you why.

                First of all (as you can imagine) this city is no place to have your kids away from your side.  I haven't seen one parent or guardian not have their kids right next to them walking the streets. The parents hold their hands or have them riding shotgun on their hip. The kids do not “act” up. No running away from their parents like I see in other places. No tantrums, (well, I did see one shrieking hellacious tantrum last summer by a 3-4 year that was worthy of an Oscar nomination) and no fighting with siblings either. These kids move right along, keep up and seem to know that getting to where they are going is important and that it’s all business on the streets.

                Even kids in strollers are incredibly quiet and accept the reality of going which they probably do several times a day. In contrast, I have seen kids getting into car seats that can do Act III of King Lear wailing non-stop with total abandon, but not these city kids, not even the toddlers. Of course in winter it’s likely their lips are frozen shut.

                Parents take their time to show kids about waiting for the walk sign and even when other grizzled New York(ers) walk against the no walk sign the parents almost never do, instead waiting to make sure the kids understand how it works. In the subway, the kids show no fear of being in the loud underground tube or the loud train pulling in that more often than not screeches to a halt. The kids just seem to “get it” at an early age. Parents talk with their kids, teach their kids, and have fun showing them interesting things (there is no end to things to see). Just imagine what kids see on their daily rounds: the good, the bad, the loud, the weird, the colorful, the inexplicable, and also the down and out people facing hardships. Yesterday I was out and when I got to the corner, there was a homeless woman sitting in the cold with a paper cup held in her hand. I was by her before I realized she was there but I stopped and pulled out my wallet and got a couple of dollars and went back to give it to her. When I was done I looked up and a kid about 5 had watched what I did and that made me feel best of all because that kid got to see we help people we don't all just walk past and ignore. It's that kind of thing kids get educated on everyday.

                The proof is in the pudding. I see the 12-16 year old kids walking home or taking some type of public transportation after school and not surprisingly they go in groups that range from two to six or seven. They stay together, they behave themselves, and they know how to negotiate wherever they need to get to. On a rare occasion I’ll see a young student walking by themselves but even they are nonplussed. They know what to do, who to avoid, how to be around adults and simply blend in with everyone. Almost all of them are polite and respectful.  I don’t see immature, goof ball behavior from early or late teens here. This is not an easy city for kids; it’s not “kid friendly”. No Chucky Cheeses, playgrounds, arcades, skateboard parks, water parks, for them. On the other hand they do get to see lots of life and figure out early how to behave and survive safely and comfortably. I get less bugged by the Stroller Nazi’s when I see the end product.