The Bicycle Loses Ground as a Symbol of Childhood Liberty

The Bicycle Loses Ground as a Symbol of Childhood Liberty

http://www.helmets.org/wsjstats.htm

The Wall Street Journal
September 9, 1996

GREELEY, Colo. -- In July, 12-year-old Cody Gillenwater and his father
rode a tandem bicycle 925 miles to Phoenix. A few weeks later, his
mother wouldn't let him bike by himself to a tennis class five miles
from his house.

"I think about the traffic, and I think about my kid getting snatched,"
says Marty Gillenwater, who doesn't want her only child to become
another "face on the milk carton."

Getting a bike used to be a kid's passport to freedom. Those who grew
up in the decades through the 1970s fondly recall long summer days
spent on their bikes, when they would reappear at home only to eat and
sleep. No more. Many parents, even ones in quiet suburbs or serene
middle-American towns like Greeley, simply don't allow their children
to ride far without supervision.

"I wish I could go wherever I want," says seven-year-old Alexis Fleming
of the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas, as she sits in her living
room, her father's arms around her. The only time Alexis can bike
around her neighborhood is when her family goes on walks. Then she must
stay on the sidewalk and go no more than two houses in front of her
parents. Wistfully, she wishes aloud that she could ride all the way to
the end of the block, then back to the house. "I'd stop at the stop
sign," she promises.

Spoken Fears

What has put the brakes on Alexis and other kids, parents say, is a
nagging fear of the potential dangers lurking outside their front
yards. Heavier traffic and even the passage of helmet laws are constant
reminders of the perils on the roads. Highly publicized kidnappings
have only upped the paranoia. The irony of this isn't lost on a
generation of parents who themselves pushed the boundaries of
independence but don't feel comfortable with their kids doing the same.


"I don't protect them from risks," explains Alexis's father, Steve
Fleming, of his four children. "I just provide an atmosphere that's
more controlled."

So now, biking is yielding to more controllable surrogates --
supervised play groups, structured extracurricular classes and an
explosion of organized sports -- that leave children with considerably
less free time for discovering the world on their own. Alexis and her
three siblings, for example, are kept busy with a schedule that
includes not merely the old standard, baseball, but also swimming, tae
kwon do and gymnastics. Alexis gets the dance lessons her mother never
got as a child, while brother Zach, 8, can already do a double flip off
the diving board.

Still, Mr. Fleming looks back with longing on his own childhood in
Colorado Springs, when he could ride wherever he wanted by the age of
six. "I was a man of the world," he says.

Flattening Sales

Bike makers, too, have felt a noticeable shift. Sales of 20-inch bikes,
those typically bought for children eight to 10, dropped to three
million last year, down from 4.2 million in 1993 and a peak of 5.2
million in 1987. Some of this is attributable to rising competition
from in-line skates and video games, but parental curbs on how kids use
bikes is unquestionably a factor, says Bill Smith, vice president of
marketing for Huffy Bicycles unit of Huffy Corp. His nine-year-old son
has tough restrictions on where he can ride his bike. "I had more
freedom when I grew up in the Bronx than my son does today in Dayton,
Ohio," Mr. Smith observes.

Parental fears -- and dwindling use -- do have an upside. Last year,
242 children five to 14 died in bike accidents, a decrease of 59% from
1975, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The decline came despite a 14% increase in the number of children in
that age group since 1986.

Meanwhile, though the child population has been steadily rising, the
number of children kidnapped, murdered or ransomed by strangers has
remained constant at about 300 a year during the past 15 years -- a
statistic that doesn't make parents feel any better. "I don't think
there's any question that public awareness of the issue is rising,"
says Ernie Allen, president of the National Association for Missing and
Exploited Children.

Fighting the Tide

Some parents try to put aside their fears, but it isn't easy. Jill
Parker of North Potomac, Md., allows her nine-year-old twin boys to
ride around a bike path in the subdivision where they live. "They need
to know they can do things without restrictions," she says. Still, Ms.
Parker admits she worries every time the boys pedal off. "I'm scared to
death about weirdos being out there and grabbing the kids," she says.

Greeley, a tree-lined farm town of 60,000 about 40 miles north of
Denver, seems about as far from those kinds of urban nightmares as a
place could be. But Sgt. John Gates of the Greeley Police Department
says the anxiety cuts across class lines. He says he sees fewer kids
riding bikes on the affluent west side of Greeley than when he was
growing up there, but adds that bike riding is even less common in the
working-class east side.

Some worry that the loss of independence can carry a price, cutting
into a child's confidence and willingness to venture into new
territory. Linda Robbins, who rarely allows her nine- and 11-year-old
daughters to ride more than a block or two from their Greeley home, has
noticed that her girls often have difficulty making decisions. She
wonders whether there is a connection. "They ask me really simple
things," she says. " 'What should I wear to school today? What movie
should I watch?' "

It can take just one incident to alarm a town, and Greeley had one this
spring when a 12-year-old schoolmate of Cody Gillenwater's was struck
by a car and killed after biking through a stop sign. Cody was so
bothered by the death that it took him weeks before he was willing to
ride past the accident site on his regular bike rides with his father,
Bill. Once there, Mr. Gillenwater made a point of talking about how the
accident could have been avoided.

Both the Gillenwater parents are passionate recreational bike riders --
the family owns nine bicycles -- and they often ride with Cody. At the
same time, their own experiences have made them more aware of the
dangers their son faces as a solo cyclist. Three years ago, for
example, Mrs. Gillenwater was riding by herself in the country outside
Greeley when a man standing by the roadside exposed himself to her.
While Mrs. Gillenwater laughs about the incident now, it also makes her
aware how vulnerable her slender 5-foot-2-inch son could be.

"He's a kid still," she says. "He likes people."

Cody only shrugs when asked about his mom's bike rules. "Sometimes it
does bother me," he says. "But drivers are not aware of what they're
doing nowadays."

Still, Mrs. Gillenwater goes the extra mile to keep Cody riding. Every
morning she takes Cody and his bike by car across a busy highway to the
elementary school where she works as a librarian. Then, Cody puts on
his helmet and rides two miles to middle school with his friends.

fgoodwin wrote:
The Bicycle Loses Ground as a Symbol of Childhood Liberty

http://www.helmets.org/wsjstats.htm

The Wall Street Journal
September 9, 1996
SNIP

Good Lord! A 10 year-old article? Where are you digging this stuff
up?

Barbara

Barbara wrote:

Good Lord! A 10 year-old article? Where are you digging this stuff
up?

It may be ten years old, but the points made are still valid, wouldn't
you agree?

fgoodwin wrote:
Barbara wrote:

Good Lord! A 10 year-old article? Where are you digging this stuff
up?


It may be ten years old, but the points made are still valid, wouldn't
you agree?


The points are valid - we used to ride our bikes everywhere as kids 30
years ago, and I'd love nothing more than for my kids to have that same
freedom. But, thanks in part to the internet pedophiles are around
every corner, people are driving too fast, not paying enough attention,
talking on cell phones, there aren't enough sidewalks or undeveloped
areas for kids to roam......irresponsible adults make it virtually
impossible for responsible adults to allow their kids to cruise the
neighborhood freely. Wishing things were different doesn't make it so.

c.

There is nothing to be feared but fear itself.

Let the kids ride.


"c." wrote in message
. net...
fgoodwin wrote:
Barbara wrote:

Good Lord! A 10 year-old article? Where are you digging this stuff
up?


It may be ten years old, but the points made are still valid, wouldn't
you agree?


The points are valid - we used to ride our bikes everywhere as kids 30
years ago, and I'd love nothing more than for my kids to have that same
freedom. But, thanks in part to the internet pedophiles are around every
corner, people are driving too fast, not paying enough attention, talking
on cell phones, there aren't enough sidewalks or undeveloped areas for
kids to roam......irresponsible adults make it virtually impossible for
responsible adults to allow their kids to cruise the neighborhood freely.
Wishing things were different doesn't make it so.

c.

fgoodwin wrote:
Barbara wrote:

Good Lord! A 10 year-old article? Where are you digging this stuff
up?

It may be ten years old, but the points made are still valid, wouldn't
you agree?

The article discusses *trends* Are these trends holding? Are bicycle
sales still down? I don't know; all I know is what happened 10 years
ago. Sheesh. Why not post an article from the height of the crack
epidemic and discuss current drug use among teens?

In any event, why not tell us about YOUR kids. How old are they? What
freedoms do you afford them? How does it differ from when you were a
child? What problems do you think these changes cause?

Barbara

Barbara wrote:

The article discusses *trends* Are these trends holding? Are
bicycle sales still down? I don't know; all I know is what happened
10 years ago. Sheesh. Why not post an article from the height of
the crack epidemic and discuss current drug use among teens?

Had I posted the article w/o a date, I think it would still be
relevant. If you disagree, you are free to skip it.

In any event, why not tell us about YOUR kids. How old are they?
What freedoms do you afford them? How does it differ from when you
were a child? What problems do you think these changes cause?

Good questions, all. So, does the article ring true with respect to
the freedoms or limits you place on your own kids?

There's plenty more where they came from.

"Greg Schisla" wrote in message
.. .
There is nothing to be feared but fear itself.

Let the kids ride.


"c." wrote in message
. net...
fgoodwin wrote:
Barbara wrote:

Good Lord! A 10 year-old article? Where are you digging this stuff
up?


It may be ten years old, but the points made are still valid, wouldn't
you agree?


The points are valid - we used to ride our bikes everywhere as kids 30
years ago, and I'd love nothing more than for my kids to have that same
freedom. But, thanks in part to the internet pedophiles are around
every
corner, people are driving too fast, not paying enough attention,
talking
on cell phones, there aren't enough sidewalks or undeveloped areas for
kids to roam......irresponsible adults make it virtually impossible for
responsible adults to allow their kids to cruise the neighborhood
freely.
Wishing things were different doesn't make it so.

c.

Another great article Fred.

I'm glad to see less of the little ****-stains on the street.

Got any stats on how many precious little crotch-dumplings are backed over
in the driveway by the payrunts? I bet it's more than 300 a year -
especially if you add in the Lil' Sizzlers.


"fgoodwin" wrote in message
ps.com...
The Bicycle Loses Ground as a Symbol of Childhood Liberty

http://www.helmets.org/wsjstats.htm

The Wall Street Journal
September 9, 1996

GREELEY, Colo. -- In July, 12-year-old Cody Gillenwater and his father
rode a tandem bicycle 925 miles to Phoenix. A few weeks later, his
mother wouldn't let him bike by himself to a tennis class five miles
from his house.

"I think about the traffic, and I think about my kid getting snatched,"
says Marty Gillenwater, who doesn't want her only child to become
another "face on the milk carton."

Getting a bike used to be a kid's passport to freedom. Those who grew
up in the decades through the 1970s fondly recall long summer days
spent on their bikes, when they would reappear at home only to eat and
sleep. No more. Many parents, even ones in quiet suburbs or serene
middle-American towns like Greeley, simply don't allow their children
to ride far without supervision.

"I wish I could go wherever I want," says seven-year-old Alexis Fleming
of the Dallas suburb of Richardson, Texas, as she sits in her living
room, her father's arms around her. The only time Alexis can bike
around her neighborhood is when her family goes on walks. Then she must
stay on the sidewalk and go no more than two houses in front of her
parents. Wistfully, she wishes aloud that she could ride all the way to
the end of the block, then back to the house. "I'd stop at the stop
sign," she promises.

Spoken Fears

What has put the brakes on Alexis and other kids, parents say, is a
nagging fear of the potential dangers lurking outside their front
yards. Heavier traffic and even the passage of helmet laws are constant
reminders of the perils on the roads. Highly publicized kidnappings
have only upped the paranoia. The irony of this isn't lost on a
generation of parents who themselves pushed the boundaries of
independence but don't feel comfortable with their kids doing the same.


"I don't protect them from risks," explains Alexis's father, Steve
Fleming, of his four children. "I just provide an atmosphere that's
more controlled."

So now, biking is yielding to more controllable surrogates --
supervised play groups, structured extracurricular classes and an
explosion of organized sports -- that leave children with considerably
less free time for discovering the world on their own. Alexis and her
three siblings, for example, are kept busy with a schedule that
includes not merely the old standard, baseball, but also swimming, tae
kwon do and gymnastics. Alexis gets the dance lessons her mother never
got as a child, while brother Zach, 8, can already do a double flip off
the diving board.

Still, Mr. Fleming looks back with longing on his own childhood in
Colorado Springs, when he could ride wherever he wanted by the age of
six. "I was a man of the world," he says.

Flattening Sales

Bike makers, too, have felt a noticeable shift. Sales of 20-inch bikes,
those typically bought for children eight to 10, dropped to three
million last year, down from 4.2 million in 1993 and a peak of 5.2
million in 1987. Some of this is attributable to rising competition
from in-line skates and video games, but parental curbs on how kids use
bikes is unquestionably a factor, says Bill Smith, vice president of
marketing for Huffy Bicycles unit of Huffy Corp. His nine-year-old son
has tough restrictions on where he can ride his bike. "I had more
freedom when I grew up in the Bronx than my son does today in Dayton,
Ohio," Mr. Smith observes.

Parental fears -- and dwindling use -- do have an upside. Last year,
242 children five to 14 died in bike accidents, a decrease of 59% from
1975, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The decline came despite a 14% increase in the number of children in
that age group since 1986.

Meanwhile, though the child population has been steadily rising, the
number of children kidnapped, murdered or ransomed by strangers has
remained constant at about 300 a year during the past 15 years -- a
statistic that doesn't make parents feel any better. "I don't think
there's any question that public awareness of the issue is rising,"
says Ernie Allen, president of the National Association for Missing and
Exploited Children.

Fighting the Tide

Some parents try to put aside their fears, but it isn't easy. Jill
Parker of North Potomac, Md., allows her nine-year-old twin boys to
ride around a bike path in the subdivision where they live. "They need
to know they can do things without restrictions," she says. Still, Ms.
Parker admits she worries every time the boys pedal off. "I'm scared to
death about weirdos being out there and grabbing the kids," she says.

Greeley, a tree-lined farm town of 60,000 about 40 miles north of
Denver, seems about as far from those kinds of urban nightmares as a
place could be. But Sgt. John Gates of the Greeley Police Department
says the anxiety cuts across class lines. He says he sees fewer kids
riding bikes on the affluent west side of Greeley than when he was
growing up there, but adds that bike riding is even less common in the
working-class east side.

Some worry that the loss of independence can carry a price, cutting
into a child's confidence and willingness to venture into new
territory. Linda Robbins, who rarely allows her nine- and 11-year-old
daughters to ride more than a block or two from their Greeley home, has
noticed that her girls often have difficulty making decisions. She
wonders whether there is a connection. "They ask me really simple
things," she says. " 'What should I wear to school today? What movie
should I watch?' "

It can take just one incident to alarm a town, and Greeley had one this
spring when a 12-year-old schoolmate of Cody Gillenwater's was struck
by a car and killed after biking through a stop sign. Cody was so
bothered by the death that it took him weeks before he was willing to
ride past the accident site on his regular bike rides with his father,
Bill. Once there, Mr. Gillenwater made a point of talking about how the
accident could have been avoided.

Both the Gillenwater parents are passionate recreational bike riders --
the family owns nine bicycles -- and they often ride with Cody. At the
same time, their own experiences have made them more aware of the
dangers their son faces as a solo cyclist. Three years ago, for
example, Mrs. Gillenwater was riding by herself in the country outside
Greeley when a man standing by the roadside exposed himself to her.
While Mrs. Gillenwater laughs about the incident now, it also makes her
aware how vulnerable her slender 5-foot-2-inch son could be.

"He's a kid still," she says. "He likes people."

Cody only shrugs when asked about his mom's bike rules. "Sometimes it
does bother me," he says. "But drivers are not aware of what they're
doing nowadays."

Still, Mrs. Gillenwater goes the extra mile to keep Cody riding. Every
morning she takes Cody and his bike by car across a busy highway to the
elementary school where she works as a librarian. Then, Cody puts on
his helmet and rides two miles to middle school with his friends.

fgoodwin wrote:
Barbara wrote:

The article discusses *trends* Are these trends holding? Are
bicycle sales still down? I don't know; all I know is what happened
10 years ago. Sheesh. Why not post an article from the height of
the crack epidemic and discuss current drug use among teens?

Had I posted the article w/o a date, I think it would still be
relevant. If you disagree, you are free to skip it.

And I'm free to criticize your postings. And I will continue to do so.
You copy things -- always on the same theme -- from heaven knows
where, violating copyrights as if they don't exist, then have nary a
word to say about it.

Moreover, I'll point out that you have just PROVEN that this article is
no longer relevant. You just posted another article -- still quite
long in the tooth at 3 years old -- indicating that bikes are now
flying off the shelves. In other words, the trend that was the subject
of this article has been reversed.

Frankly, I don't find the anecdotal evidence of interviewing one or two
parents and concluding that they represent the majority of people in
the US or world to be convincing. Of course, I also don't recall that
anyone I ever met had the childhood that these authors had, with kids
riding their bikes for miles and miles and spending hours in the woods
at very young ages, with no parental supervision.

In any event, why not tell us about YOUR kids. How old are they?
What freedoms do you afford them? How does it differ from when you
were a child? What problems do you think these changes cause?

Good questions, all. So, does the article ring true with respect to
the freedoms or limits you place on your own kids?

Well, if you read the newsgroup, you'd find I have, on many occasions,
on several threads, commented on all of these issues. Your turn now.
After all, you're the one digging up 10 year-old articles and posting
them with increasing frequency; you're the one with the agenda. Why
not share it with all of us.

Barbara