I was a bit shocked at first, but hey, I think it would be great. Do you?
Adults draw line in the sand in Lake Forest
By Susan Kuczka
Tribune staff reporter
June 22, 2007
Pails, shovels and the kids who tote them no longer will be allowed in
a kid-free zone that opened this summer on the public beach in Lake
Forest.
"We're creating a quieter space for those adults that are in search of
that type of atmosphere," said Sally Swarthout, program manager for the
north suburban city's Parks & Recreation Board, which created the
21-and-older beach at the request of several residents. About a quarter of
the city's nearly milelong beach is now for adults only.
Baby Boomer Cindy Janke called it a welcome oasis.
"It's just nice to have a break away from the noise and crowds, and
have a little peace and quiet, and listen to the waves, and kind of lose
yourself in the tranquility of the shoreline," said Janke, whose
children are grown. "Everyone's so used to being around kids when we were
younger, but here you might be able to socialize with a few members of the
older generation."
The beach ban is one of a growing number of prohibitions against kids
that have popped up in recent years. From hotels to coffeehouses,
child-free seems to be gaining popularity in an otherwise family friendly
nation.
Experts say a combination of factors may be at play: the increasing
number of childless households across the nation; the demise of the old
saw that children should be seen and not heard; and a huge Baby Boomer
population with a 'been there, done that' attitude toward children. And
in a more hectic world, people are trying to carve out mini-havens of
solitude.
The efforts to restrict children's behavior usually don't come without
controversy, especially if they make parents feel like outcasts. A
Taste of Heaven in Andersonville made national headlines when owner Dan
McCauley put up a sign in the window that read: "Children of all ages have
to behave and use their indoor voices when coming to A Taste of
Heaven."
The Lake Forest beach ban also could brew a storm, some experts say.
"To close off a space that is quintessentially associated with children
and sand castles and pails and bathing suits seems to me to be a sad
commentary," said Diane Geraghty, director of the Civitas ChildLaw Center
at Loyola University Chicago. "It almost sounds like people want to
create their own country club on [public] property."
But some parents with kids at home said they, too, relish the rare
quiet time at the kid-free beach. The city's Park and Recreation Board
approved creation of the adults-only section last fall.
"If I came here, and there were a million screaming kids, where would I
go to get away from mine?" said Dawn Kirsch, a 40-something mother of
four who sneaks to the shoreline when she can, and was recently paying
bills at the adults-only beach. "Sometimes I just want to get away from
the phone and the kids and just relax and hear the sound of the water."
Joanne Philpott, 36, goes to the beach with her three children, unless
she can get away by herself, like she did this week.
"When I have the kids, I have all that craziness, so when you can get
an hour of relaxation to yourself, the last thing you want to do is
watch someone else's kid running all around," she said.
Still, some residents wonder why a kid-free beach is necessary. They
said adults tended to gravitate to the area that is now for adults only,
anyway, because it was farthest away from the beach playground,
concession stand and restrooms.
"It has typically been used by a lot of adults who want to get away
from the kids kicking sand and throwing Frisbees and making lots of
noise," said parks Supt. Wendy McKiernan.
Every now and then, though, a sandcastle or other evidence of children
would get through the invisible line the adults had drawn in the sand
with their beach blankets and umbrellas. Hence the more official
designation.
With more people living in kid-free households, it's also become
acceptable for adults to request a child-free zone, according to Bernard
Beck, an associate professor emeritus at Northwestern University in
Evanston.
"It didn't use to be respectable to speak out in public in ways that
were anti-child or anti-family, but now that sort of talk is very
acceptable," Beck said, citing various comedians who have riffed on the
anti-kid theme.
Beck also said people who are alike tend to gravitate toward one
another.
"So if someone says, 'I hate being around younger people' and they're
rich and powerful, they'll do what they can to create a situation where
they can have things the way the like it," he said.
The pint-size beachgoers never bothered Joanne Martin, who said she
considered the kids' play as natural to the beach scene as the sand.
"I can kind of understand when the kids are playing Frisbee and running
all over, but I really like to hear the voices of children on the
beach," said Martin, a mother of three, who visited the all-ages beach
recently with her 7th grader.
Although there's no fencing or signs surrounding the adults-only zone,
the beach staff has been told to keep an eye out for anyone under 21
who might stray into it.
Lifeguards said they aren't worried about teenagers trying to sneak in.
"The kids never really hung out there anyway because of all the
adults," lifeguard Julian Bulaon said.
Some teenagers, though, don't like being singled out.
"It's not very nice," said Alyssa Loicano, 13.
"But it's better than being blocked from the entire beach for a certain
amount of time," said Brittany Frechette, 14.
Visitors to the adults-only portion of the beach will be asked to show
proof of their age, a requirement the beach monitors don't expect to be
particularly onerous.
"We'll just eyeball people, and if they look too young we'll get them
out of there," said Bulaon, who at 18 is technically barred from the
adults-only section. "But I'm the lifeguard, so if I have to go on it to
yell at somebody, it'll be OK."
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12/02
Originally Posted by Lady's Human
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