Let them go dammit!

[floppit]

Letting children off the leash

Complaints that a risk-averse culture of health and safety damages childhood have become familiar. But what steps do parents actually take to remove the cotton wool?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8789014.stm

I'm all for this, it's long overdue and I can only hope in gains momentum! My avatar about sums up my POV but I take flack for it, sometimes a little, mostly well meant genuine fear, but even to allow her risks on soft ground parks, even that I let her jump in the swimming pool, even those small things rarely go without any comment.

[Robert_S]

Damn. When I was in the first grade I was shooting a shotgun with my dad, shooting a bb gun alone, water skiing, taking a boat up a creek for hours either alone or with a friend, riding my bike for miles, carving everything with a pocket knife...

I couldn't see raising a healthy child any other way.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Floppit, tell them to fuck right off. They should go find something abusing their kids to whinge at, not somebody who genuinely cares about the sprats.

[colubridae]

two of my most treasured memories are school trips. Lower sixth form.


One down a working coal mine.
The trip down in the cage was phenomenal. Walking to the coal face where miners were oprating machinery. Huge chunks of rock dropping from the ceiling onto their backs, they barely fliched. The noise, smell, dust and heat were awesome.

The other to a working steel mill. Again the noise, the heat. My class-mates and I watched awestruck as an oxygen lance was lowered into a giant crucible of molten steel and pumped with oxygen. The noise was quite staggering. It’s over 40 years ago and I still have vivid memories of the experience.

Sheet steel shooting out of rolling mills with jets of water playing on the red hot metal.


Modern kids miss out on these things.

[floppit]

I used to play on rope swings in woods that drop down a sheer hill. As we swung out from the hillside we'd be over the tops of other trees! That was when I was under ten.

I really do hope the trend is on the return swing (so to speak!). I genuinely think it might be.

Floppit, tell them to fuck right off. They should go find something abusing their kids to whinge at, not somebody who genuinely cares about the sprats.

I'm not usually angry, it's often just that people are scared because they have no concept of a kid her age that can and does do things - she's not special like that, I just backed off and let her. It's more gasps, occasionally I get a barbed comment but I think that has more to do with defensiveness because they've told their own kids it's not safe.

Mind you, I don't let her go near the roads - I am scared of toddler/car mixes.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Mind you, I don't let her go near the roads - I am scared of toddler/car mixes.

When I was handling auto claims for State Farm we had a case where a toddler had run over his own head. I'll let you think of possible ways that could have happened before clicking the spoiler.

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

Sloping driveway. VW Beetle. Kid gets in. Takes car out of gear. Gets spooked because it's moving. Jumps out of car. Door scoops kid and puts him under car.

Luckily there was no serious injury, but shows that kids can find endless ways to get into trouble. Trying to prevent them from doing this is futile.

[Robert_S]

Mind you, I don't let her go near the roads - I am scared of toddler/car mixes.

When I was handling auto claims for State Farm we had a case where a toddler had run over his own head. I'll let you think of possible ways that could have happened before clicking the spoiler.

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

Sloping driveway. VW Beetle. Kid gets in. Takes car out of gear. Gets spooked because it's moving. Jumps out of car. Door scoops kid and puts him under car.

Luckily there was no serious injury, but shows that kids can find endless ways to get into trouble. Trying to prevent them from doing this is futile.

When I was 2, I did that. but I wasn't scared and I stayed in the car.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Mind you, I don't let her go near the roads - I am scared of toddler/car mixes.

When I was handling auto claims for State Farm we had a case where a toddler had run over his own head. I'll let you think of possible ways that could have happened before clicking the spoiler.

Trigger Warning!!!1! :

Sloping driveway. VW Beetle. Kid gets in. Takes car out of gear. Gets spooked because it's moving. Jumps out of car. Door scoops kid and puts him under car.

Luckily there was no serious injury, but shows that kids can find endless ways to get into trouble. Trying to prevent them from doing this is futile.

When I was 2, I did that. but I wasn't scared and I stayed in the car.

Mom was sitting on the patio. She thought it was cute that the tyke had figured out how to open the car door. Three minutes later she was in hysterics.

[The Dawktor]

two of my most treasured memories are school trips. Lower sixth form.


One down a working coal mine.
The trip down in the cage was phenomenal. Walking to the coal face where miners were oprating machinery. Huge chunks of rock dropping from the ceiling onto their backs, they barely fliched. The noise, smell, dust and heat were awesome.

The other to a working steel mill. Again the noise, the heat. My class-mates and I watched awestruck as an oxygen lance was lowered into a giant crucible of molten steel and pumped with oxygen. The noise was quite staggering. It’s over 40 years ago and I still have vivid memories of the experience.

Sheet steel shooting out of rolling mills with jets of water playing on the red hot metal.


Modern kids miss out on these things.

Yeah Colu'- I agree BUT that was 1923!

[Animavore]

I agree with the OP too. I always loved climbing trees and cliffs and playing football and diving into the sea off the harbour wall or from a cliff top and going for insanely long cycles into the mountains (when I lived near them). I would expect to rarely see my kids at all after a certain age except when they're hungry. In which case they'll be thought to cook as early as possible too.

[colubridae]

two of my most treasured memories are school trips. Lower sixth form.


One down a working coal mine.
The trip down in the cage was phenomenal. Walking to the coal face where miners were oprating machinery. Huge chunks of rock dropping from the ceiling onto their backs, they barely fliched. The noise, smell, dust and heat were awesome.

The other to a working steel mill. Again the noise, the heat. My class-mates and I watched awestruck as an oxygen lance was lowered into a giant crucible of molten steel and pumped with oxygen. The noise was quite staggering. It’s over 40 years ago and I still have vivid memories of the experience.

Sheet steel shooting out of rolling mills with jets of water playing on the red hot metal.


Modern kids miss out on these things.

Yeah Colu'- I agree BUT that was 1923!

1968

[floppit]

Paper scissors! I let Munchkin have them, I have done since she stopped thrusting everything in her gob! At playgroups I have to stand guard because without me there she doesn't get to keep them for more than 10 secs without another Mum/worker taking them away.

So far no-one has said I'm wrong when I explain I consider it so utterly unlikely that she would squeeze the (very blunt) paper scissors with such force as to lop off her fingers or hands and that a nip will teach her adequately that scissors might be sharp. In fairness I've only ever had people agree with me but they still don't let their kids. I really don't get why not - I mean I am often talking about plastic scissors. Freya cuts fringes, just chop chop not lines, very well, unfortunately she's never given herself a nip in the process!

I can't help think these kind of fears are becoming cultural to the point of superstition, I don't actually think most parents would believe plastic scissors will remove a finger or that a child will be emotionally/physically scarred from a nip. I would also doubt that most parents would actually believe that risk isn't present with very real sharp scissors, at gran's house, when a pair get left out etc. Last of all I don't think most parents believe that saying 'don't touch' to a kid works when you're not there! Surely it's a prime example of mass irrationality?

[Feck]

I spent a lot of time in factories and work places when I was very young I learnt hot meant HOT sharp meant SHARP and if you ignore the instructions not to look at the pretty lights when men are welding then you go blind for 24hrs !

[Coito ergo sum]

Letting children off the leash

Complaints that a risk-averse culture of health and safety damages childhood have become familiar. But what steps do parents actually take to remove the cotton wool?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8789014.stm

I'm all for this, it's long overdue and I can only hope in gains momentum! My avatar about sums up my POV but I take flack for it, sometimes a little, mostly well meant genuine fear, but even to allow her risks on soft ground parks, even that I let her jump in the swimming pool, even those small things rarely go without any comment.

I think those of us who were little kids in the 70s were possibly the last generation of that were allowed to really play. After that, we saw the advent of "play dates" and all sorts of "organized activities."

When I was in grammar school, I'd run through the yards and play with friends "down the street." We made our own fun. Mud-ball wars, bike riding, tag, sports, etc. We learned to fall and get scraped up and come home and get cleaned up. Sure it hurt. Sure we cried every now and again. But, that's part of growing up, or at least I think it should be. A child learns that there is consequences to actions, and when there isn't a net, nobody is going to be there to catch you.

Nowadays, I see my friends' kids and they are the videogame culture, and there is a reticence to behave in an unstructured manner.

I find that kids aren't taught things like they used to be either. I mean, I saw my friends' kid the other day - 12 years old - had no clue how to put the bike chain back on his bike. The parents took care of it, without requiring the kid to learn that simple task. And, it's not just the task, but the training in HOW to figure things out - HOW to do things on their own.

Keep letting your kid climb those rope ladders - one, he or she is not going to get hurt, and two, if there are any scrapes or bruises, that's part of growing up. And, there are essential lessons to be learned there - how high can I climb? How can I hold on? How do I get down? How do I modify this situation to where I can do what I want or have some fun?

In the 70s, we had "monkey bars" in the school playgrounds - metal bars formed into shapes that you could climb on and hang from and otherwise play on. Of course, you could also fall. I think by the mid-late 80s, they were all gone from playgrounds because of the occasional accident.

[Meekychuppet]

Paper scissors! I let Munchkin have them, I have done since she stopped thrusting everything in her gob!

Different to mum then?

Anyway. I have spent my entire life as a parent telling pushy mothers and grandparents to fuck off. It seems that everyone thinks it is their divine right to give unsolicited advice to Lady Chuppet and I, and there is seldom a more rewarding sight than a gobsmacked busybody who cannot believe that I just yelled 'fuck off' at them at the top of my voice.

Jake and Luca have each had loads of scrapes, falls, trips and landings and each time they bounced back easily. Jaya will no doubt be the same when she's walking. I personally think it's even more important that she does this than the boys, firstly so she doesn't turn in to a high maintenance girly girl who thinks mud will kill her, and secondly so she learns to mix it up with males.

When we go camping Jake gets stuck. He collects wood, makes a fire, uses a proper hunting knife. Adults are grown but men are made.

Bottom line is, kids should be allowed to eat turds.