I want my children to fall so they can learn to stand up, I get that. But I'm not going to be the one pushing them down and I won't tolerate it if any other adult does. Kids will be kids, but there is a point when it's not about testing boundaries and power but about dysfunction and malice. Sounds like you may have had both growing up.Our games were our games, we had our own little child civilization, It's something I really value now, it's something I don't see many kids today having.
My father always told me that we kids were too coddled. He wanted us to get bruised, cut and scraped up because it meant we were out there living. He would get very upset if we were inside playing Nintendo on a sunny day and would walk over to the wall and unplug the TV. I'm thankful he was like this because it forced us to be more physical. We played war out in the woods, rode bikes everywhere, played smear the queer and managed to beat each other up pretty good. I never had to worry about the adults though, they never laid a hand on me. I was fortunate to grow up in a family/neighborhood that didn't even spank, yet alone hit.