Strollerderby : nostalgia

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles No Longer Teenaged

JeanneSager — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:21:00 GMT

Dude! Our kids are watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and we were around when they came out. Cowabunga, we're old.

The TMNT were on top of the Empire State Building this past week because apparently that's how turtles celebrate their twenty-fifth birthdays.

Wait, twenty-five? I know! Somehow, this one is really getting to me. It's only a quarter of a century, but I distinctly remember being sucked into my baby brother's TMNT sword fights (I was always April O'Neil, the grown-up, wisecracking reporter . . . go figure, huh?) and trying desperately to return the TV to something more my speed after he'd commandeered the VCR with yet another showing of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with an as yet relatively unknown Sam Rockwell.

A prankster to this day, his first "joke" came when he was three - about a turtle talking on his turtle-com. So unfunny it can ONLY be the stuff of family legend, it was rooted in his love of all things green and half-shelled.

So check out the picture gallery over at the Best Week Ever, and call in your kids. They'll be impressed when you can name all four . . . and their favorite food. Throw in a "cowabunga, dude," and you might even earn some serious street cred.

Image: Best Week Ever

Crafty: Shrinky Dink Your Christmas Tree

JeanneSager — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 18:36:00 GMT

If you're not one of those "everything has to match" holiday tree people, you're my kind of parent. The more nursery school Santas and one-eyed reindeer the better in my book.

With the economy, well. . . you know what the economy is like . . . this year we'll be decorating the tree in a way that's both nostalgic AND futuristic. Think shrinky dinks (remember those?) from recycled plastic.

Instead of picking up the sheets of shrinkable plastic from a retro toy store online, rescue clear #6 plastic from your recycling bin (it's usually in the form of those single-serve take-out boxes from restaurants, salad bar containers or those the grocery stores use to store strawberries and blueberries).

Cut off the excess plastic so you have a flat sheet to work on, pour out a pile of markers and let them have at. Have your cookie cutters out to make holiday cookies? Trace around them, and let them add their embellishments. Let them write out a holiday message . . . whatever. Then cut around the picture. Make sure you cut a small hole near the topto later slip a string through to hang the ornament on your tree.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and drop the rack to the lowest spot it can go in the oven. Create a "tray" out of aluminum foil, and place the kids' plastic pictures across it - just make sure you keep the pieces spaced an inch apart.

The plastic will start to get wavy in the oven, but it will flatten out, shrinking to about one third of the original size and nine times the original thickness. For a piece that's about six inches across, cooking time is about three and a half minutes - a little less for smaller pictures. You can keep an eye on the plastic through the oven door and take it out after it's finished the shrinking process and flattened out. Remove carefully (using tongs) - when the plastic is still hot, it is still relatively pliable.

Stick your string through after the "ornament" is cool, and commence decorating.

Image: Playlibrary

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Maybe The 80s Are Retro

Brett Singer — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:30:00 GMT

When I first started to notice that television producers and marketing executive was using the 80's to induce nostalgia and/or referring to it as retro, I was annoyed. Eventually I got used to it, but still found it troubling. Come on, I said. It wasn't THAT long ago. Sure, lots of things have changed. But 1988 was only 20 years ago. That's not retro, is it? Translation: I'm not THAT old, am I?

Take a look at these TV commercials from 1988.

That hair. Joe Isuzu. Geraldo Rivera braying that our children may become victims of a Satanic cult.

Ouch. I guess I am that old.

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Were You a Highlights Kid?

JeanneSager — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 19:01:00 GMT

The first thing I'd do was flip to the Hidden Picture. My crayon poised to circle a shoe in a tree or a shovel in a pant leg, I'd pour over the page like I was about to discover the secret to unlock the world's candy supply. I was a Highlights Kid - and now I know I'm in good company.

The publishing company behind the magazine piled in pediatrician's offices across the country has launched a Website for those of us who are now thumbing through the mag we read as kids with our own brood. I Was a Highlights Kid allows everyone to share their favorite memories, Goofus and Gallant stories, and tales of their published doodle. Along with us little people, Highlights will be offering the stories of some of today's best known authors and illustrators who got a boost in their childhood when their tales were printed in the pages of their favorite magazine. They started this week with essays from Freakonomics author and New York Times essayist Stephen J. Dubner and Poodlena author E.B. McHenry.

Already the tales are pouring in. Will you add yours? Better yet, will your kids one day add theirs?

Image: Highlights for Children

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American Girl Samantha To Be Retired

Amy S.F. Lutz — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:22:00 GMT

Are you a fan of Samantha Parkington, one of the first American Girl characters, who has been wildly popular since her introduction in 1986? If so, better stock up on dolls and accessories now: the character is slated to be retired "soon," according to the company, which means the only products you'll be able to buy after Samantha is delegated to the American Girl "Archives" are the books.

I can't decide whether this is a natural evolution of the product cycle, or a shrewd attempt by American Girl to increase the value of Samantha dolls and inflate demand going into the Christmas season. After all, there's probably no American Girl character that inspires as much nostalgia as Samantha. Many mothers played with Samantha dolls when they were girls, and may feel the urge to make sure their own daughters don't miss out on the opportunity to do the same.

And don't think Samantha's going out without significant fanfare. According to a press release from the company, "American Girl is inviting fans to share their favorite Samantha memories at americangirl.com/stories. Visitors to the Share Your Samantha Memories site can post their cherished Samantha stories, read tributes from other Samantha fans, and celebrate her legacy as a friend to girls everywhere."

The Banana Splits are back, sort of

Brett Singer — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 14:15:00 GMT

Clearly, my Babble List has had tremendous influence on the entertainment business. How else do you explain the news that the Banana Splits are coming back to television?

Well, they're sort of coming back. The Cartoon Network will show "1½-to-2½-minute comedy shorts…Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m." So its not exactly appointment television, and the kids will be in school (hopefully) when the shorts air. HOWEVER, another component of this re-surfacing of the Splits is the website, bananasplits.com. There you can find tons of videos and music, including what the press release calls, "one of the catchiest theme songs in television history." I think the kids will like it, and they'll also like these jokes (please note that the side comments are mine):

"What do you call a song you sing while you're parents are driving?"

(Annoying?)

"A car tune!"

(Oh. Right. Of course.)

"What do you call a cow from Alaska?"

(Must… not… make… Sarah… Palin… joke…)

"An eski-mooo!"

(Phew! I did it.)

Anyway, all of this Split stuff brings enough nostalgia to the table that I might share it with the kids, which is really the goal. I do wonder why they bothered re-recording the theme song. It's more modern, sort of, but it lacks some of the energy of the original. I'm not sure if I'll run out and buy the music and DVDs that are also available, but if nothing else, the website is a fun diversion: very colorful and, dare I say it, "groovy." (That's their word, not mine.) Check it out for yourself and see what you think.

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RetroFitted: School Supplies You Used Then, But Never Again

Jen Chaney — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:32:00 GMT

As school bells rang -- if they hadn't rung already -- for many this week, I started to reminisce about lunchboxes. And dividers. And Wite-Out.

You know, all those school supplies you had as a kid that, once you grew up and started working in the real world, you used ... never again. Some of the items that we "needed" to keep nestled inside our cold metal desks seem, in retrospect, completely unnecessary and borderline ridiculous. Here are 10 that may cause instant flashbacks to the third grade, especially for all you former kids of the '70s and '80s.

10. Wite-Out: A must-have back when people still used typewriters, this tiny jar of white cover-up was once a staple for many students and now is practically extinct. Added bonus: That potent, chemical smell.

9. Pencil sharpener: Honestly, when was the last time you ground a No. 2 into one of those little plastic doohickeys that was supposed to make it sharper? Exactly: Sometime around 1983.

8. The lunchbox: Most adults bring their PB&J to work in one of those sophisticated-looking totes or the classic brown bag. But some days, you know you want to pack your salad and yogurt in a Peanuts lunchbox with a flip-up Thermos. Or maybe in one of those metal classics with Wonder Woman on the front. Come on. Admit it.

7. The pink eraser: Remember rubbing these furiously to remove the mistake you made while practicing cursive? And remember blowing the speckles of pink dust off that piece of lined paper so you could attempt a better-looking lowercase "g"? Do you also remember why we needed these rectangular deleters when pencils already come with erasers on the end?

6. School box: This was exactly what it sounded like: A pseudo-cigar box designed to hold all those pencils, erasers and what not. But really, wasn't that what your desk was for?

5. Book covers: I know kids still use these. But if I wrap the novel I'm currently reading in packing paper and write "I Heart Rick Springfield" on it in Magic Marker, I think I'll get funny looks on the subway.

4. The Trapper Keeper: No three ring-binder was cooler than this baby back in the '80s. (If memory serves, mine was green, with jungle animals on it.) I have to think today's teachers are relieved that these aren't quite as popular today, and that they now make them with magnetic closures. No one needs to listen to the ripping of Velcro every eight seconds.

3. The holepunch: Some friends of mine once spent an entire class period in high school punching holes in paper, collecting the little circles, then dumping them inside another friend's car until her front seat was nearly filled. All of which is a long way of saying that hole punchers are nothing but trouble.

2. Tie -- The protractor and the compass: These help kids learn to draw circles or measure shapes or something. But when was the last time one of your co-workers turned to you and said, "Oh, man. I'm in a huge bind. Do you have a protractor on you?"

1. Reinforcements: The twisted cousin of the holepunch, reinforcements were those white sticky circles we used to protect our fragile papers from those perilous rings in our binders. They were useless then, they're useless now. And I kind of love them for that.

Baby Penis Album only five bucks

Brett Singer — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 14:00:00 GMT

Thanks to Mike's brilliant post linking to the NPR interview with the kid who is nekkid on the cover of Nirvana's breakthrough CD, I will forever think of 'Nevermind' as The Baby Penis Album. (Kids, "albums" were these shiny black things with a hole in the middle… oh well, whatever, never mind.)

If Mike's post made you nostalgic for the nineties (that was a really tough sentence to write), you can do it fairly cheaply: Amazon has the MP3 version of Nevermind on sale for only five dollars. (I'd say something about Amazon being the man who sold the world, but that's a different album.)

I myself did not smell the teen spirit when Kurt Cobain's magnum opus took the world by storm in 1991, but at these prices, maybe I'll check it out. Who says I'm not hip?

image: Amazon.com

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Giveaway: Win "The Muppet Show: Season 3" DVD!

editors — Fri, 30 May 2008 14:00:00 GMT

There are a few different ways to watch The Muppet Show: The Complete Third Season. You can view it as a freakish collection of pop-culture oddities: Gilda Radner singing Gilbert and Sullivan with a seven-foot-tall carrot, Sly Stallone sparring with a talking punching bag. You can look at it as a record of great live performances by the likes of Pearl Bailey and Danny Kaye, or a tribute to forgotten stars like Leo Sayer and Elke Sommer. You can see it as an an absurd backstage soap opera, following Kermit's struggles to keep his show afloat while Fozzie enters group therapy and Piggy threatens her romantic rivals.

But I'd recommend watching it as a child would: Laugh when the Swedish Chef is outsmarted by his own dough. Smile at the unexpected beauty of the African masks singing backup to Harry Belafonte. Let yourself believe the puppets are alive. Season Three is the best Muppet Show collection yet, with fantastic bonus features perfect for family viewing (including a 1968 special called "Muppets on Puppets," which explains the art and process of puppeteering).

And we have three to give away!

Email babblecontest@gmail.com with your full name, mailing address, and the name of your favorite Muppet, and we'll pick three winners at random.

And if you don't win, you can still pick up the set for $32.99 at Amazon. Good luck! -- Gwynne Watkins

UPDATE: The contest is closed and we have 3 winners -- congratulations to Tracey from Ontario (favorite Muppet: Fozzie), Maribeth from Quentin PA (favorite Muppet: Rizzo) and Jeanette from Santa Monica (favorite Muppet: Rowlf)!

80s TV Flashback

Brett Singer — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:30:00 GMT

A friendly tipster emailed and asked if anyone remembered an educational segment that ran in the 1980's called "Dear Alex and Andie." I immediately recalled the song, or at least the part with the title in it. Jen Chaney gave the correct title ("Dear Alex and Annie") and the full set of lyrics:

"Dear Alex and Annie ... What should I do? ... Dear Alex and Annie ... I'm desperate ... Dear Alex and An-nieee!"

So I did a little digging. Here's what I found out:

- According to Yahoo!, "Dear Alex and Annie" aired on ABC, popping up during their Saturday morning cartoon block, sort of like the better-known Schoolhouse Rock. The show answered, "child-related problems, submitted by viewers, through specially written songs."

- A bit of trivia: the songwriter for "Dear Alex and Annie" appears to be Lynn Ahrens, who went to be a Tony Award-winning Broadway lyricist (Ragtime, Once on This Island). The name is spelled "Lyn Aherns" but that appears to be a mistake.

- Further digging turns up a listing on IMDB that says the 5-minute segments aired as part of a larger show called "Kids Are People Too". Wait a minute, I remember that one. More digging: Bob McAllister of Wonderama was the host, at least for part of the show's run. Michael Young took over at some point (information is a bit spotty).

- JumpTheShark has more info on "Kids Are People Too", including discussion of various guests that appeared on the show. These include Patti Smith - yes, that Patti Smith - and none other than Kiss, who introduced Eric Carr as a member of the band. (Considering Gene Simmons' most recent screen appearance, I think it's safe to say that he's a multi-faceted entertainer who can appeal to all age groups - just not at the same time.)

Now comes the good part: video! YouTube has the Patti Smith and Kiss appearances, which you can see below.

Thanks to the email tipster for sending me on a trip down Saturday Morning TV Memory Lane. Anyone have any favorite forgotten kids' shows?

image: tvhistory.tv

Patti Smith sings "You Light Up My Life"

Kiss - Kids Are People Too: Part 1

Kiss - Kids Are People Too: Part 2

Have We Made Our Kids Wussies?

Kelly Mills — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:35:00 GMT

This weekend I sat on a beach, which you might think would be a real relaxing thing. Actually, I spent most of the time completely tensed up and ready to spring into action as I let my daughter and another little girl play in the shallow part of the waves. I had already succumbed to temptation and given her the undertow-is-dangerous lecture, and now I just had to sit back and watch from ten feet away. I waved faux-cheerily to her from time to time and mentally reviewed all my teenage lifeguard training, using every bit of willpower I had to stop myself from rushing across the sand and demanding she play four inches from my towel. And I thought often about this great column on how we've engineered all the danger, and also a good amount of fun and learning experiences, out of our kids' lives.

When I was a kid I played in much deeper water, with much sharper objects, in much more perilous places, and with much less adult supervision than my child has ever known. Perhaps it's a mass helicopter parenting movement, but I do think our anxiety about our children falling and fighting and feeling has overtaken us. The only problem is that I'm still too freaked out to let her do the things I did as a child. All I can tell you is that step by step, with a first-aid kit hidden in my purse, I'm doing my best to put her a little more in harm's way. And I'll pretend I wasn't relieved when the other girls' mom, terrified of the water, made our girls come farther onto the sand.

If you'd like to relive your own near-death experiences, check out the comments here too.

Use Me: Playing With Kids For Their Toys

Kelly Mills — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 12:29:00 GMT

There's a good post on mothertalkers about kids and the cool toys, and how some of us try and live vicariously through kids by getting them every lead-paint-riddled thing we ever wanted as a child. (I love the way this references the Seinfeld episode where Jerry lulled his girlfriend to sleep so he could play with her awesome toy collection.) I'm pretty sure my daughter's large haul of tiny little toys with a thousand little pieces has more to do with my freakish fascination with the miniature and the fact that we had few toys with li'l parts when we were growing up. Like, how many teensy weensy cupcake sets does one kid need?

But perhaps you too have walked into the toy store and started slowly drooling on some item you begged for and were denied in your own youth. I'm guessing this is the case for many, if the wave of nostaligia toys like Care Bears and Strawberry Shortcake dolls (albeit sluttier ones) are any indication. Me, I was also enamored with a big pink doll house and a play makeup set. So guess whose kid looks like a painted trollop while she arranges furniture in the drawing room?

What toys did you pine for as a kid?

Strollerderby Playdate: Nostalgia, Baby

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 11:07:00 GMT

I'm back home from four long and lit-up (mostly from casino lights, I swear) days in Las Vegas. It was my first time there and not at all what I expected. It was all expensive waffle-house food and bad cocktail uniforms. And what did I expect? Expensive waffle-house food and bad cocktail uniforms with more feathers and Dean Martin playing in the background. Delusional but true. Apparently, I am not alone in my yearnings for times of yore, my friends. Here are a few bits of nostalgia that may just have you hunting for your sparkle suit and Vegas ashtray, too:

Liz at Mom-101 misses being pregnant, not for the warm, fuzzy baby stuff. More for the getting-people-to-do-shit-for-you stuff (is there a better reason really?)

Yvonne at Joy Unexpected is looking back free years since her daughter's birf (and longing for all those lipsticks that have lost their lives along the way).

Our own lovely Karen's longing for leftovers. Either that or some sucka to clean out her fridge. It's hard to tell.

Fame Crawlin' Whit's kid is yearning for snow and hot chocolate. Oh, and maybe a sibling.

...and finally, speaking of much swankier cocktail uniforms, thank you, thank you, small children.

[photo credit: earlyvegas.com]

He's More Machine Now Than Man

ChagHolland — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 19:30:00 GMT

In yet another attempt to cash in on the nostalgia of my youth, Oregon Scientific has created a Darth Vader laptop for kids. While it looks remarkably like the Star Wars carrying case that housed all of my precious action figures, the device is actually a learning tool for children.

The laptop comes with a light sabre stylus that extends with the push of a button and even makes the "whoosh" sound. The machine claims to develop hand-eye coordination, memory skills, musical talent, rhythm, and typing skills, just like the real Darth Vader!

The device contains fifty games where kids can choose to be a Jedi Knight or Sith Lord. But given the choice, who wouldn't want to be the bad guy?

Now can someone tell me how to talk my daughter into trading in her Barbie laptop for one of these?

Oh, Remember the Singing Grapefruit?

Kelly Mills — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:51:00 GMT

The first time someone who thought I should be exposed to opera played me Bizet's Carmen, I immediately had a serious flashback. I felt warm and comfy and citrus-y. "Daisies and rubber bands?" I thought. Of course I was reliving this wonderful bit from Sesame Street.

I love the kitchen collaboration to make a perfect diva, and my favorite part is that stretch of a high note. I wonder if Maria Callas' face ever flew in the air when she sang?

Gen X Nostalgia Behind Latest Toys, Movies ... Suckas

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:31:00 GMT

You'd be surprised at how long it takes me to catch on to things. (Then again, if you've been reading this blog for any measure of time, maybe you wouldn't be surprised at all. OK, fine. No maybe about it.) Still, I was quite shocked -- shocked! -- to discover that advertisers and Big Media companies were taking advantage of Gen-X nostalgia to pitch toys and movies.

"Nooooo!" you say. Yes. It's true. I kid you not. The Dukes of Hazzard. Miami Vice. The freaking Ninja Turtles, and now, the latest, the Transformers movie. Nostalgia explains it all.

I was trying to figure out why all these 80s hits were making a come back, and then I saw this article. Marketers are hoping to cash in on a rose-colored view of the 80s, and I have to tell you, it's working. The movies made millions. And then there's the products.

I recently bought my wife a miniature Lite Brite for her office -- because nothing says kick-ass lawyer like a Lite Brite -- and I also bought my daughter a cute little pink Le Tigre polo because it was, well, in front of me. Those pesky marketers might be onto something. Or I'm just the world's biggest sucker. I'm thinking the latter.

Kids Still Go For Muppets

Kelly Mills — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 18:19:00 GMT

This weekend I took my kid to a showing of The Dark Crystal. I have vague memories of the film from my own childhood, mostly I remember that it scared the bejeezus out of me. Watching it again, about twenty-five years later, I can see why I was freaked (non-stop tension) and also noticed that my child is much more jaded than I was. When the big creepy tarantula monsters show up, she said, "They look like big lobsters. Pshaw, those don't scare me. Their butts are too big."

Anyhow, while it was fun to share a little nostalgia with the spawn, I was interested to read in this interview that there's probably a sequel coming out, headed by the Henson kids. (The story also mentions Labyrinth, which I think I enjoyed much more in my youth. And David Bowie= hottest goblin king EVER.)

It'll be a trip to see how much of the new movie is old-school muppet and how much is done with computers. And if there are any puppeteers in the house, I have a question. How come they can make the puppet faces move so realistically, with blinking and breathing, but whenever a creature has to walk, they either glide like a hovercraft or bob in a completely unconvincing way? I'm guessing natural walking must be the holy grail of puppeteering. But you tell me.

80's Kids Shows to Movies: Which Ones Would You Choose?

Kelly Mills — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 20:31:00 GMT

I guess there's a live-action Transformers movie coming out. (As you can probably tell from my enthusiasm, I'll be camping out at the first showing to get tickets.) A little Wikipedia-ing told me Transformers have been around in one incarnation or another since 1984, but I think I was a little old for the original show, or just not that into cars that could become robots or what-have-you. However, at least one child of the 80's has a whole list of nostalgia shows she'd like to see made into movies (although I have to correct and say Ghostbusters was a movie before it was a show, oh 80's child.) On the list are G.I. Joe (if it hasn't been explicitly done, I think we've come pretty close with about a bajillion war movies), Jem (yup, truly, truly, TRULY outrageous), and the Smurfs (everyone inserts the Smurfette porn joke here). Also mentioned are Rainbow Brite (god help us) and Thundercats. Uh, thundercats, ho?

This list made me realize first and foremost that my child watches waaaaay better T.V. than I ever did, tricked out with Tivo as we are, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time before she's all into some poorly drawn, badly written program designed to sell merchandise. I'm not really heavy on the nostalgia-fix myself, but maybe there are one or two programs I wouldn't mind seeing as films. 1. Sigmund and the Seamonsters, which was 70's, not 80's, and is already live-action, but I watched it in the 80's and I wanna see a movie of it so get off my back, will ya? 2. Um, did we have any good T.V. back then? Mr. Rogers? Help me out here, people!

Ninja Turtles Kick Butt, Take Names

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:08:00 GMT

A few weeks ago, I wondered why on earth the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a new movie -- considering the show last saw massive popularity when "Alf" was eating cats and molesting that boy. Or whatever it was Alf actually did.

The point is, I was wrong. Turns out the turtles are a big thing, and they just beat the crap out of the box office competition - making the cartoon the hottest movie in America and bringing millions of people back to their childhood for two hours at a time.

Producers said the turtle movie tapped into the nostalgia young people have for those pizza-eating, Da Vinci clods (oh that's just bad). A lot of people grew up on turtles and they wanted to check them out one last time.

That makes sense. Who doesn't want to remember the glory days? So when's that "Silver Spoons" movie coming? Huh? Huh!

The Good, Bad, Old Days Of Childhood: Nostalgia In The Blogosphere

Patti — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:55:00 GMT

Ah, memories, lighting the corners of our minds. A boomer reminisces at IRememberJFK about playing with hyper-realistic looking cap guns, and more specifically, whacking at a whole roll of caps with a hammer. At Electric City Weblog, Gen X-er Hawkeye waxes nostalgic about getting stabbed with lawn darts and other dangerous childhood games that we'd never, ever let our kids play today.

Half of my husband's stories about childhood end with someone being flung over the handlebars of a BMX bike (helmets? Ha!), while in the early 1980s I was letting myself into the house with my own key (on a string around my neck, of course) and making Spaghetti-O's for dinner--I had to stand on a footstool to reach the stove knobs, since I was only eight. I know eight-year-olds today who aren't allowed to touch the can opener without supervision, much less the stove.

I find myself so torn between wanting my children to have some of the benign neglect that was such a large part of childhood when we were kids and needing to conform to a socially approved level of supervision. What's stopping me? Social pressure to hover? Sky-high insurance premiums? I already know from parenting forums that I'm a rare bird for allowing my preschoolers to play in the back yard alone. Their own fully-fenced back yard! Letting them run across the street to play with the neighbor kids would be totally unacceptable unless I made calculated efforts to befriend the parents and oversee the proceedings. And it shouldn't have to be that complicated. It's not like the neighbor kids have lawn darts.