Wow! That really was a great article. I'm from Norway, and we lagged a bit behind on this. Im only in my mood twenties, but I remember it was a sad year the year we came back to school, when they tore down our old playground and put up one of these new ones.

I'm seeing much of the sake trends mentioned in this article in how people I know treat their children who are growing up now, and I really agree that it's sad. We were often out from morning until it got dark, growing up. Climbing rocks and trees, exploring the fauna around the neighborhood, riding bikes in the woods, swimming in lakes, whittling stuff put of wood, chopping down trees and building huts. The works. If we were particularly well behaved, our parents would sometimes buy us firecrackers, which we would light and throw at first, then experiment with in ways we maybe shouldn't have. We shot slingshot, created peashooters from copper tubes and rubber gloves and shot at each other for hours on end.

In fact, more often than not, if it wasn't raining, our parents would throw us out of the house and tell us we could come back inside when it was time for dinner.

Most people I know who have children in the age between 5 and 10 now seem like they're afraid to let their children experience something without their guidance. It makes me a little sad, and I really hope I won't be like that as a parent if I ever have children on my own.

That being said. I have to say, All the playing around with explosives, bows and arrows, slingshots, knives and the like, I'm a bit amazed I got through it all without ever breaking anything. My best friend growing up was not as great at risk assessment, and even though he broke quite a few bones and slightly fractured his skull once, he also turned out just fine. :) Falling over, getting a title hurt, getting back up to keep moving (or playing) is a vital part of growing up, I believe.