Child's Play - Tag Joins Dodgeball as Playground Pariah

ABC News ^ | 6/24/02 | Geraldine Sealey

[glory]

Aaaah, four square. I remember that. They still played it in the 70's, don't know if they do anymore.

[PLK]

We send our kids to public schools, but try to prepare them for the PC garbage they inevitably encounter there. One of the issues our kids understand to be hopelessly stupid is the "self-esteem" hoopla. They regularly arrive home on the bus and proceed to entertain us with stories of stupid self-esteem presentations or projects going at their school.

Anyway, when our children heard us talking about the "dodgeball" ban at other schools, they started whooping with laughter. It seems our middle school P.E. teacher isn't up on the P.C. times, he regularly schedules a game our kids assure is butt-kickin' great fun - it's called Nuke em' - and involves at least some degree of intentional landing of a volleyball on or very near the person on the other side of the net. It's their favorite.

[glory]

That was my luck in dodge ball too--I could not throw to save my life and I inevitably got nailed on the leg--splat--big deal--it was fun and I got my turn to "be the hero" when I won a round of four square or aced a math test. Back, not so long ago, we all realized that not everyone was good at the same thing. It was not a perfect world and kids got picked on sometimes, but we all survived and had a great time in elementary school.

[Technocrat]

Yeah buddy! Smear the quear was the best game ever. I couldn't throw or catch worth beans, but I sure could run...

[tophat9000]

Great the only game left for kids is... "Couch Potato"

[Squawk 8888]

Those games taught me a VERY important lesson....that losing is a real possibility and that losing sucks!

The same concept can be applied to the issue of teen violence. Better to let them lose a few fights when they're too small to do serious damage.

[Warren]

Liberals were awful at dodgeball.

[MassExodus]

Our favorite game used to be "Kill the man with the ball" a cross between tag, football & rugby.

I credited 5 years of College Rugby to having grown up with playing "kill the man with the ball".

Absolutely the most fun you can have in a play ground.

It's where I learned the tactic "Smash and Roll".

[kidd]

"Duck, duck, gray duck" will now be replaced by "Duck, duck, color-challenged-duck"

[kidd]

Every kid plays "King of the Hill". One kid finds a high spot (a dirt pile or a snow bank), claims that he's "King of the Hill!", then everyone else tries to knock him off. "Tag" was something you did when you didn't have a hill.

[meyer]

Our favorite game used to be "Kill the man with the ball" a cross between tag, football & rugby.

Man, we used to play that as well. I kept getting "killed" but I still kept playing. Got a few bruises and got the wind knocked out of me a couple of times but I survived. It was great fun.

[meyer]

What kind of ball blinded the kid? Obviously, there needs to be limits, but the overall concept of a game that requires an equal amount of offensive and defensive tactics is a good one.

Perhaps they used golf balls. LOL

[wtc911]

Same game with the same name on LI in the50s/60s. Gotta wonder how that happened.

[stainlessbanner]

And they wonder why violent crimes are up? These kids need an outlet to play, vent frustration, and get out their energy. If they just sit around and play "head's up, seven up", they will go home with all that energy.....and consequently get into trouble.

They are so worried about some kid not being picked for kickball, they lose sight of important stuff. Now get out there, play some dodgeball, and tag your neighbor (....I mean play tag with your neighbor!).

[martin gibson]

..potentially vicious playground activities... "In this game, there is a 'victim' or 'It,' which creates a self-esteem issue..." the principal wrote.

Only an neo-Stalinist educrat pig could have written this with a straight face.

Where is the 'HUGE PROJECTILE VOMITING ALERT' an article like this absolutely requires?

[mindprism.com]

Public schools are victim factories, and we wonder why gangs are so popular.

[meisterbrewer]

What kind of ball blinded the kid? Obviously, there needs to be limits, but the overall concept of a game that requires an equal amount of offensive and defensive tactics is a good one.

Perhaps they used golf balls. LOL

It's been a while (longer than I'd like to admit), but it was probably 6" or 8" diameter or around there. I agree with the earlier post about limiting the ball sizes to the larger ones to prevent such a problem. Again, I like the game in general, and all competitive games. I was a wrestler in high school myself, as well as football and track. Never did like baseball, too slow.

Anyway, my purpose in posting was to expose the dangers of the game. It is a great game, but it must be administered with some adult supervision and a little common sense.

[meyer]

Anyway, my purpose in posting was to expose the dangers of the game. It is a great game, but it must be administered with some adult supervision and a little common sense.

Understood! Yes, I can see younger kids, left on their own, improvising with the contents of Dad's golf bag. :^)

[meisterbrewer]

Not that I would have done anything like that. No, of course not.

I remember my cousin and I used to get into BB gun fights. We would dress up in sweats and wear safety glasses that our fathers brought home from work at the Ford Motor Company and chase each other around barns and fields shooting AT each other! I'm amazed we didn't do any permanent harm. But man, did it STING when I got hit!