Child’s Play (Literally) Being Regulated In America
There have been multiple stories in the mainstream media about children being suspended from school for making the sign of a gun. Some schools have even outlawed playing “Cowboys and Indians” on the playground. It’s getting to the point that boys are not allowed to be boys at all in today’s modern schools and boys in particular need regular exercise in order to fully participate in a classroom–yet many schools are removing physical education entirely.
Where do we draw the line? Will they soon outlaw “tag”? No more “Red Rover or “kick ball”? Is the next step to cover entire playgrounds with bubble wrap and just let the kids “imagine” they’re playing? I’m sure someone somewhere has a fear of jump ropes and is planning a ban on those, too, just in case a six year old might try to put one around someone’s neck. Even my former sister-in-law once removed all the strings from her two boys sweatshirt hoods because she read somewhere that they can get caught on playground equipment…
When everything is legislated, or folks think they can prevent tragedies via legislation, we have reached a point of mind- numbing idiocy. It’s getting to where children cannot have any sort of imaginary play on school property unless it is “school approved”. If they want to be children, they have to wait until the end of the day when they get home so they can revert back to childhood.
It is a very sad commentary when the schools now control “play” to the point where no fun, no games, no fantasy are involved. Meanwhile, I am hearing our “fearless leader” on television talk about the “epidemic of violence” in our society. This same leader who says he cares about our kids and violence in America is arming our enemies—including Mexican warlords and Middle Eastern dictators– with millions of our tax dollars, guns, and drones. At the same time he is arming our enemies, he is also saying, “We must do everything to protect our kids”.
If you ask me, we were much safer before Obama got into office. It’s all a joke to him when it comes to legislating by executive order; he thinks he can just bully his way around the “United States playground”. I have a feeling that part of Mr. Obama’s problem is that his mother never let him play on a schoolyard playground. Perhaps instead of playing Cowboys and Indians, he played Muslims and Christians–or maybe in Indonesia, praying and studying the Koran is called “play”? Perhaps if Obama had actually gotten dirty and played on the playground—or better yet, if he had gone to an American grade school–he would see his un-American, anti- free thinking logic.
Play is very important to a child’s development. Play allows children to fantasize and act out fantasies in a safe environment. You cannot legislate a parent to be responsible and to monitor his or her child during playtime; no one can legislate common sense. Obama and his Nanny State government seem to believe they can sign a piece of paper called an executive order and the entire country is ‘safer’.
Meanwhile, it’s complete liberal nonsense when schools believe that regulating and allowing only certain “safe” activities will not offend or result in a child being ‘harmed’. I have news Mr. Obama and school principals: The world is a dangerous place—especially after you have armed it! There is no such thing as a perfect world–unless you are a socialist who believes we will all sing “Kumbayah” after the government has successfully taken all our money, resources, rights and property.
The playground is an integral part of where children learn, grow and become responsible adults. So for all the liberal principals out there who think it’s okay to expel elementary children for pointing or kissing or calling someone “cute”, it’s time to grow up because this is not child’s play!
