'The Irony': Redditor's post on murals of childhood games under no football sign sparks mixed reactions

A Redditor's post about void deck murals showing children at play beneath a no football sign has drawn mixed reactions online.

The murals show children playing various traditional childhood games, with one featuring the words, "Yesterday Once More."

Reddit user @Vindicted1501 titled the post "The Irony" and wrote:

"I found these murals at the void deck which depicted children growing up playing. In contrast, the signs of NOT ALLOWING ball games are just staring down like the photos of our president and the first lady."

Posted on Oct 12, the thread struck a chord with many - amassing 1,500 upvotes and 124 comments at press time.

Netizens reminisce about childhoods at the void deck

Redditors flooded the thread with memories of their own void deck adventures, while others debated whether noise from children playing is still acceptable today.

"Back in the day, you knew school was over because all over Singapore, school boys were kicking footballs at the void deck pillars and walls. Boom... boom... boom... boom - soundtrack of the weekday afternoon in the 90s/00s," wrote one former void deck footballer.

"Core childhood memories were playing football in the void deck and block catching after school. We never went past 6pm because parents would come back then.

Fortunately, my block neighbours never complained - kids from different levels played together downstairs. Sometimes other kids from different blocks would play with us, and there'd be some kind of 'rivalry,'" added another.

Not all were so fortunate, as some recalled less happy experiences.

"Got scolded by police playing football at the void deck. Most likely a resident reported us. Can't have a childhood if the adults patronize innocent kids," said one user
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One Redditor thought the problem no longer exists because there's no career in sports. "Nowadays parents don't let kids have such activities anymore, especially sports because you cannot "earn money" with it when you grow up. Now all have to go tuition and study," said the Redditor.

Another disagreed: "On the contrary, parents are paying big money to send kids to many sports academy."

Noise divide opinions

The discussion soon turned to noise complaints - a familiar tension between nostalgia and modern living.

"Now you make noise a bit, police come and tell you your privileged neighbour complained about it," said one user.

Another disagreed: "Eh really? I hear children shriek all the time because there's a playground directly at my block though. My neighbours and I think nothing of it."

Some felt complaints were valid, especially if noise disrupted daily life.

"It's a perfectly legitimate complaint though, no? Imagine living on the 2nd or 3rd floor and working from home or resting from the night shift or just being a retiree. The constant street soccer shouting, slamming of the ball against the walls makes life unbearable. Not to mention they could play on weekends too," wrote one Redditor.

Another explained why they objected to the noise: "I complained once to the school opposite me. That was during covid period, and I was working from home while my sister was working night duty, sleeping in the afternoon. The kids would laugh hysterically and play ball in the void deck every day after school. We stayed at level 2. Generally, we are ok with sound as long as it doesn't cause any disruptions or inconveniences to us."

Screens over streets

Some netizens said that children today are spending more time on screens than playing outdoors.

"No more block catching. Most are playing mobile games," said one.

"It's okay, let them watch brainrot on TikTok instead. We can then collectively be surprised as a society when they grow up to be depressed, lonely, and socially inadequate," commented another.

Still, others pointed out that opportunities for outdoor play still exist.

"In my neighbourhood estate, primary school-aged kids, both boys and girls, play their own version of catching/shooter team games with Nerf guns in the evening. Weekly, you can find the odd neon foam dart at random places around the playground or void deck. There's also a street soccer court in the estate, so that's where the kickabout happens," said one user.

Another added: "Kids aren't barred from playing ball games in other nearby places, like multipurpose courts, grassy patches or playgrounds (which we have more of today). They aren't barred from playing other sorts of games, like catching around the void decks either."

The Redditor also defended the sign prohibiting football at the void deck: "The signs are there to prevent balls leaving marks on walls, and for the safety of other void deck users. That's kind of why it's specific to that sort of activity."