Are you a free-range kid?

 I won’t trade memories of my childhood for anything else. I was a free range kid…along with my two older siblings, our cousins, and neighbors.

I remember a time in my history when we would go for long walks in the morning after breakfast during the summer (or weekends during the school year). My siblings, neighbors, and I would explore beyond the familiarity of our street in Better Living, Paranaque.

It was once a paradise. Our house sat along a quiet, secluded street surrounded by lush weeds (which we would burn from time to time…and unknowingly violate RA 8749 or the Clean Air Act of 1999). But that was just a small patch that required weeding anyway. Behind our house was a vast rice paddy–with its water buffaloes, and a farm house amidst a band of trees in the middle of the field. Along its perimeter was a creek that ran parallel to our street.
Beyond the lush greens of our immediate proximity was the burgeoning suburban residences. In a sense, we had the best of both suburban and rural living at one point in our lives.

There was always something new in each of those numerous walks around the neighborhood. Come to think of it, maybe one of the reasons why the frequency of those morning saunters had declined was because we were constantly being chased by dogs.

And we learned from those experiences. We learned which streets housed “wild” dogs.

And we learned that a seemingly hardened cow shit could never be rock hard…maybe it needed longer exposure amidst the elements.

I remember a time in my history when we would play “soccer” in the newly (and deliberately) burned field beside our house and come home with feet and legs blackened from the ashes.

My brother and cousin would one time make our own slingshots as weapons “against” those nonchalant cows, carabaos, horses, and goats which only wanted to eat grass (and spread harmful methane on to the atmosphere). I was so excited to have my own sling that I did not wait for my cousin, who was the expert slingshot maker, to wake up from his siesta that afternoon. As I was trying to cut a strip of rubber we bought from the neighborhood sari-sari store earlier that day, the scissors accidentally slipped and sliced through part of my finger. It cut through a shallow depth…but deep enough that it developed a cheloid that I carry proudly to this day.

Then they built Manhattan Villas.

I used to look out the window of my and kuya’s room and delight upon the simplicity of that pseudo-rural scene. A few years later, the development and construction started. I could no longer imagine how I felt when the magnificent morning view was blocked by the twisted polygons of the poorly constructed townhomes.

At an early age, I have come to understand the downsides of change and development.

And to this day I can only look back. And smile that I was a free range kid.

The following is an email circulating on the internet sent by a concerned and evidently affected parent about an unnerving incident involving one of her sons.  Can parents be blamed for being overprotective in this day and age?

Though my children have had their share of minor injuries including a couple that required an emergency room and stitches. Nothing ever happened to them that came close to being kidnapped, held against their will or even victims of a hold-up until my son Renzo was involved in one.

Monday afternoon, August 18, Renzo and 3 of his classmates were going to practice at our home. Their meeting place was Trinoma Mall at 1pm . Renzo was accompanied by his elder brother till the time that Renzo was with his classmates. Renzo already with 2 classmates, Ram and Aaron waited for Richard 3rd classmate at Olympic Village 4th floor. While waiting they went thru soccer balls and boxing gloves. Soon after they received a text message from 3rd classmate Richard who was now waiting for them at Seattle’s Best, 1st floor. They proceeding to meet Richard and as soon as they were complete they headed for our home but then a man approached them and identified himself as an employee of Olympic Village and even flashed an ID to the boys. The man informed them that they damaged an item and that they should follow him back to the store. The man narrated every move the boys made and true enough one of them accidentally dropped a soccer ball. Before leaving Seattle ’s Best, Richard the last classmate to arrive was told to stay behind and wait for their return.

The man then brought the 3 boys to the 4th floor Cinema Area. Ram and Aaron were told to give Renzo all their belongings (3 cell phones including Renzo’s, an IPOD, a PSP and 2 wallets) and were ordered by the man to go to the restroom to wash their hands before the investigation. The boys followed as ordered. When they returned Renzo and the man was no longer there. Fearing for Renzo’s safety and their other friend they headed back to Seattle ’s Best. Richard was still there but Renzo was no where to be found. All three went back to Olympic Village and informed them of the man who introduced himself as an employee and that Renzo was missing.  They were brought to the Trinoma Security Office also at the 4th floor and reported
the incident.

2:45pm at home, I received a phone call that every parent feared, “M’am, this is Ram, Renzo’s classmate, M’am si Renzo po is missing. . . .” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing I asked them where they were, what happened and who was this man they were talking about. I quickly headed to Trinoma to meet with them. I was scared, thoughts ran through my mind, all the what ifs and all I could think of was Renzo’s safety. I called on the Lord, my dad and my mother-in-law to please keep my son safe. When I arrived at the Security office, my prayers were answered, there was Renzo, scared, pale, shaken-up and in-tears but most importantly safe and unharmed.

Having been convinced that they indeed damaged an item at Olympic Village, Renzo was told by this man that he is bringing him to the main office of Olympic Village. So they both walked all the way to West Avenue until they reached the building beside Caltex. The man told Renzo to stay outside the building and wait for his return. An hour had passed no sign of this man, Renzo approached the building security guard and asked if he had seen the man he was with enter their building and the guard said that no one entered their building at that time. Upon realizing what had just happened, Renzo hurriedly returned to Trinoma scared of thinking that the man might have returned for his friends and that something might have happened to them.

Little did Renzo know that from the time the Trinoma Security office was informed of the incident Renzo was already being paged constantly. The in-house detective of Trinoma decided to wait for Renzo at Seattle ’s Best thinking that he would return there. True enough Renzo did return and upon seeing this scared boy the detective approached Renzo introduced himself and brought him safely to the Security Office.

Renzo and his classmate Ram was able to identify the man who was with them through the Security Camera of Olympic Village. This man was following them from the time they entered Olympic Village up to the time they went to Seattle ’s Best. He watched every move they made and made sure that the boys had no accompanying adults with them.

As soon as Olympic Village releases the picture of this man to us I will post it and make known to everyone the identity of this man who momentarily created fear in our lives. Angry? Yes I am angry; I want to knock-off this man should I see him. I am angry at myself for trusting my son will be safe on his own. I am disappointed that after all the serious talks I’ve had with my son on not talking to stranger’s still he did not obey. As a parent no matter how much you want to protect your children, no matter how tight we pull the strings on them, our children will still continue to experience pain and still be careless at times.

The good news though was that my son, our sons, were spared and for that I am grateful to the Lord. I know I will have this constant fear over their personal safety; we can’t be everywhere, we can’t see everything, we can’t know everything but the Lord can and sure enough my prayers were answered.

Please pass this on to everyone you know who has teenage children daring to explore on their own. Never mind if they get angry for not being allowed to be on their own but at least you are sparing them from this trauma. Also please do not allow your children to bring gadgets outside of their home as these serve as baits for hold-up.