Anonymous
Post 05/06/2019 21:34     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious about all of the biking - are kids riding on the sidewalks or streets? I love the idea of my kids biking around in theory but I'd be worried about the city streets.


I live in a quiet DC neighborhood near Rock Creek Park with little through traffic, so kids/families do indeed bike on the street.


Are we neighbors?

I live in a similar neighborhood and kids are out in droves right now.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2019 15:14     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious about all of the biking - are kids riding on the sidewalks or streets? I love the idea of my kids biking around in theory but I'd be worried about the city streets.


I live on the Hill and kids ride on the sidewalk. As a dog owner, this drives me crazy. As a parent, I see why they do it and try to be forgiving because the cars on the street go too fast. My oldest is 6 and I make him walk his bike one block to the park and then he can ride there. Sidewalks are supposed to be for pedestrians.


Sidewalks in DC are perfectly fine for bike riders outside of the central business district. Bikes should yield to pedestrians. That being said the safety of kids on bikes trumps your convenience as a dog-owner, IMHO.


Forgot the link:

https://ddot.dc.gov/page/ddot-bicycle-and-pedestrian-safety
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2019 15:13     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Curious about all of the biking - are kids riding on the sidewalks or streets? I love the idea of my kids biking around in theory but I'd be worried about the city streets.


I live on the Hill and kids ride on the sidewalk. As a dog owner, this drives me crazy. As a parent, I see why they do it and try to be forgiving because the cars on the street go too fast. My oldest is 6 and I make him walk his bike one block to the park and then he can ride there. Sidewalks are supposed to be for pedestrians.


Sidewalks in DC are perfectly fine for bike riders outside of the central business district. Bikes should yield to pedestrians. That being said the safety of kids on bikes trumps your convenience as a dog-owner, IMHO.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2019 02:06     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:Curious about all of the biking - are kids riding on the sidewalks or streets? I love the idea of my kids biking around in theory but I'd be worried about the city streets.


I live on the Hill and kids ride on the sidewalk. As a dog owner, this drives me crazy. As a parent, I see why they do it and try to be forgiving because the cars on the street go too fast. My oldest is 6 and I make him walk his bike one block to the park and then he can ride there. Sidewalks are supposed to be for pedestrians.
Anonymous
Post 05/06/2019 00:24     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:Curious about all of the biking - are kids riding on the sidewalks or streets? I love the idea of my kids biking around in theory but I'd be worried about the city streets.


I live in a quiet DC neighborhood near Rock Creek Park with little through traffic, so kids/families do indeed bike on the street.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 22:42     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Curious about all of the biking - are kids riding on the sidewalks or streets? I love the idea of my kids biking around in theory but I'd be worried about the city streets.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 14:13     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I grew up in DC. We walked to our friends houses and roamed the neighborhood. We would stop in markets and get snacks, go to our school and play on the equipment. We did a lot of walking.


Yeah, I didn't gain weight until I went to a college in the middle of nowhere. Growing up in DC, we walked EVERYWHERE! My cousins lived out in Upper Marlboro and would constantly complain whenever they spent the night because we walked a good 20 minutes to the grocery store, a half hour to the "good" library, or 20 minutes to McDonald's.


Came here to say this - city kids I know are in much better shape than the suburban ones.


My experience too. My kids are all over the neighborhood, the Hill, from the time school lets out until dark. One middle schooler rides her bike to school and then to the library from there. They are in and out of our house and friends houses constantly, running, biking or on their scooters.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 13:29     Subject: Re:How do city kids burn off extra energy
My kids are 5 and 4 so not quite at an age where they can be free range, but they are really active. We live in Petworth and have a tiny yard but they play in the yard while I cook dinner. We have some neighbors with similar aged kids and they will come over and hang out, play chalk and throw a ball around. We walk to school every morning and bike and walk a lot almost every weekend, plus spend a lot of time at the Rec pool and playgrounds. Like PPs I think it’s easier to be active in a city.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 13:02     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I grew up in DC. We walked to our friends houses and roamed the neighborhood. We would stop in markets and get snacks, go to our school and play on the equipment. We did a lot of walking.


Yeah, I didn't gain weight until I went to a college in the middle of nowhere. Growing up in DC, we walked EVERYWHERE! My cousins lived out in Upper Marlboro and would constantly complain whenever they spent the night because we walked a good 20 minutes to the grocery store, a half hour to the "good" library, or 20 minutes to McDonald's.


Came here to say this - city kids I know are in much better shape than the suburban ones.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 11:47     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
I live in Glover Park, DC. Kids in my neighborhood (at least those about 8 years old and up) are pretty much free range. Lots of biking and scooters (neighborhood is completely sidewalked). Plus Stoddert ES playground is right there. Not all neighborhoods (in fact, hardly any) in DC are pure concrete.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 11:44     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:Not unusual in my city neighborhood to see a group of 8 or 9 year olds hanging out on stoops or heading to a playground unchaperoned. And I agree with many of the pps about the more "passive" energy burns you get from walking/biking/scooting everywhere in a denser or more urban environment.


Pp here. Fwiw, OP, I have a 2.5yo and an infant and we plan on raising them in the city. My husband and I both grew I in the suburbs but we see many many happy and energetic families around us and assume we'll be able to make this work. For us, at least, our favorite aspects of city living include our ability to walk and bike to work rather than drive.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 11:41     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Not unusual in my city neighborhood to see a group of 8 or 9 year olds hanging out on stoops or heading to a playground unchaperoned. And I agree with many of the pps about the more "passive" energy burns you get from walking/biking/scooting everywhere in a denser or more urban environment.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 11:14     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:I grew up in DC. We walked to our friends houses and roamed the neighborhood. We would stop in markets and get snacks, go to our school and play on the equipment. We did a lot of walking.


Yeah, I didn't gain weight until I went to a college in the middle of nowhere. Growing up in DC, we walked EVERYWHERE! My cousins lived out in Upper Marlboro and would constantly complain whenever they spent the night because we walked a good 20 minutes to the grocery store, a half hour to the "good" library, or 20 minutes to McDonald's.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 11:11     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
Anonymous wrote:I think OP is talking about unsupervised play? I remember when I was 7 yrs old, I’d come home around 4 pm, grab my bike, and go biking around with friends until dark. I don’t see many 7 yrs old just biking around the city in groups by themselves. I live on the Hill and would love to send my 8 yr old to the playground 5 blocks away to shoot hoops with whoever else is around, but I don’t see anyone else doing that, tbh. I don’t know if that’s bc I live in the city, or if that’s just more parenting today (i.e., not just letting kids roam around on their own).


I think that's parenting today. I grew up near Lincoln Park. After school, I'd drop my backpack at the door and grab my, scooter, bike, or skates and head to Maury's playground, ride around Lincoln Park, or (if I was feeling daring) sneak and ride to the Capitol and back before my mother noticed. This was the 80s and 90s. I'm a teacher now. My students' favorite pastime is playing Xbox and PS4 online. I don't know if their parents don't want them going out or if they're just allergic to fresh air.
Anonymous
Post 05/05/2019 10:32     Subject: How do city kids burn off extra energy
I grew up in DC. We walked to our friends houses and roamed the neighborhood. We would stop in markets and get snacks, go to our school and play on the equipment. We did a lot of walking.