Where are all the children?

The place seems deserted, doesn’t it? I’m not on a journey into the wastelands, I’m in a place that on such a beautiful day should be bursting with kids running around, laughing and shouting. Only there are no kids, which is ironic as this park is called ‘Children’s world’.

Where are all the kids? Some of them are at school at this hour, a little past noon, while the others are at home doing homework. They don’t have the time to enjoy one of the last nice autumn days and no one seems to have a problem with that. Maybe over the weekend, if they don’t have to study extra for upcoming tests, in which case there’s no time to waste with swings and bikes.
As I walked around, I ran into a few grown-ups enjoying the sun and young mothers pushing prams. Small kids are safe - the system doesn’t care about them. Yet.

I don’t know why we keep calling school-age young persons children, since the moment they start school their childhood is basically over. The freedom they enjoyed until then, gone. All they get is duties and responsibilities.
A friend of mine was telling me about her kids daily routine - school, early dinner, rushing to get the homework done in time for bath and an early bed time, because, obviously they need to wake up early. No free time, no playing, nothing pleasurable in their lives.

Most adults would go crazy with this kind of life, although the vast majority seem happy with grabbing a beer and watching some crap on TV, which they call unwinding. Kids don’t get to unwind in any way. Their lives are all about their ‘right’ to an education.
Parents have no problem with their children being sold into the slavery that is school, society is fine and has nothing but praise for kids who perform well in school. I wonder why we even bother to build huge parks the kids get to enjoy only on summer breaks.

This beautiful place is right next to an educational center, where my son is currently taking his first Italian class. We could spend an extra hour in the park, but there is no point, he won’t have anyone to play with. Being homsechooled he'd enjoy some company, but all the other children that come to this place are in the system - foreign languages or music are just extra-curricular activities squeezed into an already tight schedule. They have to hurry home, for there is homework to be done.
The swings will have to wait…

Thanks for reading