The reason we love
the classic Christmas specials so much isn't just
that we watched them as kids. It's also that the
kids in them ARE kids. They do stuff. They make
stuff. They go outside and chop themselves a tree or
deliver medicine for the pharmacist or even lick a
flagpole, instead of sitting in the back seat
watching "SpongeBob SquarePants" as Mom drives them
to basketball practice.
Obviously, these
fictional characters are just that — fictional — but
yes, Virginia, there were kids who made their own
fun. I swear it!
But when's the last
time you saw a group of kids building a snowman or
even having a snowball fight? It's probably been a
while, because most tykes are either tied up in
extracurricular activities after school or inside
because their parents don't want them to play
outside unsupervised.
For this, I don't
blame the "helicopters." I blame a society telling
us our kids can't handle anything on their own —
especially fun. Look at L.L. Bean, that supposed
champion of rugged outdoorsiness. It is selling a
"Snowman Family Kit" for $25 — or was. I just
checked its website, and it is sold out! What does
this sought-after kit consist of? "Everything you
need to outfit a snow family and pet," including toy
glasses, fake carrots and those hard-to-find items
called "buttons."
Really? Kids
couldn't rummage around and find their own items to
decorate a snowman? They need corporate help?
Actually, they need
more than that. A note at the top of the kit's Web
page reads: "WARNING: SHOULD ONLY BE HANDLED OR USED
WITH ADULT SUPERVISION." That is why you
don't see kids outside. We've been told that even
the most basic of wintertime joy requires an adult
on hand, as if building a snowman is now officially
(and legally) too dangerous for kids to handle on
their own. "Here, Timmy, let me add that button nose
for you. I don't want you to choke."
"Thanks, Dad! That
was a close one!"
And then there is
the snowball-maker. For real. It's called the
Sno-Baller, and on the website One Step Ahead, where
it sells for $9.95, we learn that this red plastic
scooper device "makes soft, safe snowballs. This
ingenious gadget produces perfect snowballs that
disintegrate on contact, so they can't hurt like
hand-packed snow balls."
Hey, if snow is that
dangerous, why use it at all? Why not make snowballs
out of Kleenex? Or cotton? Or bubbles? Oh, wait. I
forgot. Bubbles are toxic and require adult
supervision, too. My bad.
The Sno-Baller copy
adds that the device also helps keep kids' hands
from getting "cold." Because, God forbid...
In the Christmas
specials of old, the kids not only do things on
their own (and get cold hands) but also interact
with adults who are not their parents. And that is
considered normal, not terrifying! Consider little
Susan in "Miracle on 34th Street." She is cared for
by a stranger for a whole day, and her mom doesn't
freak out, even though the stranger is a man. Later
in the movie, Susan is tucked in bed by yet another
man — an older guy — and there is no one else in her
room. So what if the guy is Santa? He's a man, and
if you filmed that scene today, you'd have to have
another background-checked adult in the room or the
kid's mom in the living room watching a live feed on
the video monitor.
In the not-so-olden
days, kids were part of things because we believed
in them and in most of the world around them. And
isn't that what this season should be all about? As
Susan says, "faith is believing when common sense
tells you not to."
Today faith is
believing when L.L. Bean, Nancy Grace, a zillion
warning labels and most of the tabloids and talk
shows tell you not to. As for me, I still believe.
Lenore Skenazy is the author of "Free-Range Kids:
How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without
Going Nuts with Worry)" and "Who's the Blonde That
Married What's-His-Name? The Ultimate
Tip-of-the-Tongue Test of Everything You Know You
Know — But Can't Remember Right Now." To find out
more about Lenore Skenazy (lskenazy@yahoo.com) and
read features by other Creators Syndicate writers
and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web
page at www.creators.com.
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