“Free youth.” - Marco M.

Free youth

Between the ages of ten and sixteen, we lived as if in a limbo. To my family, I was costly in economic terms, and not only that, but nothing compared to what a young person of the same age costs today. Ours was a free youth. Going to play with friends was part of the game. In summer and winter, if one wanted to meet someone, one would not wait for a parent to act as a taxi driver, but on foot or by bicycle one would go, and it was an adventure. Street games cost nothing.
When we were tired, sweaty, and thirsty, we did not go to the bar to buy water or other drinks; instead, we went to the nearby fountain, which I still remember today as a place that relieved our thirst. The water was not bacteriologically controlled; in fact, those of my generation today don't suffer from the thousand viral and food issues that plague new generations, who seem to possess the delicacy of crystal.

We cost almost nothing; every difficulty made us a little stronger and a little more independent.

Can society go back? The answer is certainly no, but today's parents have the opportunity to raise children by combining saving, avoiding buying them cell phones or other similar digital devices, measuring the financial allowances that should still be earned, and letting them invent their own games. This might make the few young people raised in a past-fashioned way somewhat alien to others, but certainly stronger and better prepared to face a future that I don't think will be easy.

m.m.