Making Room for the Kids

I’m angry! What is happening to our society? Where do kids fit in? It seems they place low on the list.

After reading the article on the Cypress City Council passing an ordinance on Rollerblade hockey (“City Checks Hockey Play at City Hall,” June 13), I could scream! Just last night as we were walking past our local high school in Placentia, we came across some college-age kids playing Rollerblade hockey on the blacktop. I thought, how great; they were having fun without sex, drugs or guns!

Where are kids supposed to go for fun these days? I used to take my boys to Upland when they were into skateboarding because there was a skateboard park there. It had giant pools to skate in, but you had to wear protective gear (it could be rented), have clean language and manners and it cost $4 for all day. The owners had to close the place because insurance got so expensive.

Now my 17-year-old is into mountain biking. He and his friends loaded their bikes into a pickup truck to head for the hills so they could ride. They got as far as Yorba Linda when they were pulled over by the police. The police were checking to see if the bikes were stolen! Come on, these kids had done nothing but drive with their bikes in the back of the truck.

Let’s take a lesson from Huntington Beach, which is planning to open three skateboard parks and give our kids some spaces to grow, learn and have some fun. If not, we will have a bunch of kids that think it’s fun to sit in front of TV and Nintendo, eating chips all day.

JANICE KILIAN, Placentia