Cultivating street smarts
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Anonymous
Agree, this is a ridiculous reason to keep your kid signed up for tennis. Really, OP? |
Anonymous
| Why? Realistically, your kid is probably going to always be surrounded by majority UMC white people. Or people of different races from middle class up. |
Anonymous
Precisely - a black woman |
Anonymous
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My kids grew up in cities in the U.S. and in Europe and Asia, so I think they are relatively “street smart”. They have lived in nyc the longest. But you are conflating street smarts with being open minded about race. I tell my kids why we do things - why we stand away from the edge of the platform until the train has arrived, why we put valuables hidden in parked cars, why we lock the doors while pumping gas, why we don’t enter an empty train car, why we don’t make eye contact with deranged people on the street, why we don’t give to pan handlers in Times Square, why we still have to look both ways before crossing a one way street, etc.
As far as racism goes, I point out racism when I see it, I mention the history of racism in the U.S. as context, I don’t ignore race but I also don’t use race as a descriptor for people, and I also point out cases when I’ve made a stereotypical generalization and why I’m wrong. Just my opinion, but I think everyone is at least little bit racist, just like the avenue q song. It’s always a work in progress to be fair to everyone. |
Anonymous
| You think your kid's tennis coach will teach him how to be street smart because the coach is a black man? Did I really read that? |
Anonymous
| Watch Trump videos |
Anonymous
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I’m white with a black child OP so I get that part of it. Ws live in the burbs too, your kid is kinda young but you let them gradually go out and about alone or with friends.
Mine was 8 during Covid so all play was outside, riding bikes, scooters etc with friends or neighborhood kids ( nof many) Walking the dog alone. Getting a library card and going in the library alone Ordering food in a restaurant, going in to pick up a couple of things while u wait outside the grocery store. DD just turned 13 and got a metro bus pass. She’s ridden the bus a few stops with a friend to get lunch then got it home again. The first time they went the wrong way. I let them figure it out. They had to speak to the driver and it worked out. The next time she got it right. |
Anonymous
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Having role models of all genders and races and even different religions is a good thing.
We are a 2 mom family and I love that my kids sports coach’s are men. Gives DD positive mail role models. Having said tbat, OP if your kid isn’t loving tennis I’d try different activities |
Anonymous
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Go downtown more.
Take public transportation. Visit other urban areas and discuss how you keep your items safe. What does a tennis coach have to do with street smart?? |
Anonymous
Was thinking the same thing. Anyone who plays tennis is probably not very street smart at all.  That's more of an elitist sport.
Find someone who is adept at handball instead OP. Handball is the most street sport there is, and #1 sport in prisons as well. Great calorie burner as well, average about 50% more calories per hour than fast jogging or treadmill. |
Anonymous
| Honestly you sound a little racist to me. It reads like “I force my kid to do a sport he hates just so he can see a black man being something other than a criminal because we know he probably won’t see it anywhere else.” |
Anonymous
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"street smarts" to me is about trusting your gut and avoiding potentially unsafe situations and conflict. It's about walking down a sidewalk where a mentally ill person might be ranting, but it's also about navigating creeps on the playground or a potential sexual predator who they know. It's about being confident, knowing boundaries, and also knowing how to navigate slight penetrations of boundaries without shutting down or panicking.
OP you have clearly built a life that attempts to scrub all signs of discomfort from your kid's life, but at least make sure you're teaching them out to speak up for themselves, how to say no and walk away, etc. |
Anonymous
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Un/fortunately you can’t really become fully street smart in the ways that matter most without going through some bad experiences. This is the one thing that you can’t buy for your kids! Ha!
But really that is just another privilege that you have. You can avoid the trauma of being a victim of the streets. You should watch what you wish for. |
Anonymous
Not everyone stays in the suburbs. More and more young people are branching out. My daughter is in a BFA program in NYC. Her classmates and friends are from everywhere and all income levels. She works a part time job where most people weren’t born here. At one point my daughter and her closest friends had boyfriends all from different countries. My 5th grader has friends born in Africa, Russia and many South Americans. What you’re describing about the kid never leaving his bubble is outdated. Not everyone will be in a big city but as more people move around for various reasons there will be more blending of families and friends. Hopefully the next generation understands that they don’t need to hide in a neighborhood set apart for large income people to keep safe. |
Anonymous
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Spoiler alert: your kids will not be street smart.
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