R
Rick
Guest
Maggie wrote:
>>My kids are grown, but they _certainly_ did a lot of riding without bike
>>helmets. In fact, I assume _all_ of us did. A parent is allowed to
>
> let his kid climb a tree without a helmet. He's allowed to let his
> kid play pickup baseball without a helmet. He's allowed to let his
> kid ride his pony without a helmet. In each of these, and many other
> situations, the choice is reasonably left up to the parent. What in
> the world is so dangerous about cycling that justifies overpowering
> parental judgement?
>
>
> This makes sense to me. There were certainly no helmet laws when I was
> a child and there were none for my children. I sometimes wonder how I
> survived childhood and also how my children survived. I rode in the
> back of my fathers pickup truck with my brother all through my
> childhood. If you put your kid in the back of a pick up in the NY/NJ
> area today, you would be arrested for child abuse or neglect. We
> didn't have car seats, seat belts, helmets, and our cribs had slats we
> could stick our heads through,and wooden high chairs we could climb
> out of very easily. HOW DID WE SURVIVE??? ...stuff deleted
There is an overwhelming sense of fear in our society, to the point that
it is laughable. They check your shoes before going into public
buildings because one idiot tried (unsuccessfully, mind you) to do
something bad with shoes on a plane. What's next? Wingtips of mass
destruction?
My brothers and I used to throw knives and screwdrivers in a game
called, "eat the knife" (it was a more innocent time - grin). We
intentionally knocked each other off bikes jousting or dogfighting. The
modern era is so marked by fear that parents won't let their children
play sandlot ball because their future careers could be ruined. It is
insane. Sure, we got hurt and the doctors put us back together so that
we could do it again.
The reality is that children will do dangerous things, learn from their
mistakes, and dust themselves off. Seldom were the injuries serious
enough to warrant medical attention, and even rarer did we go on to do
the really dangerous things that rebelious teens attempt today (such as
kayaking Niagra Falls). Kids learn not to make certain mistakes twice. I
am uncertain whether we are doing them any great favor by trying to
protect them from a natural element of growth.
Rick
>>My kids are grown, but they _certainly_ did a lot of riding without bike
>>helmets. In fact, I assume _all_ of us did. A parent is allowed to
>
> let his kid climb a tree without a helmet. He's allowed to let his
> kid play pickup baseball without a helmet. He's allowed to let his
> kid ride his pony without a helmet. In each of these, and many other
> situations, the choice is reasonably left up to the parent. What in
> the world is so dangerous about cycling that justifies overpowering
> parental judgement?
>
>
> This makes sense to me. There were certainly no helmet laws when I was
> a child and there were none for my children. I sometimes wonder how I
> survived childhood and also how my children survived. I rode in the
> back of my fathers pickup truck with my brother all through my
> childhood. If you put your kid in the back of a pick up in the NY/NJ
> area today, you would be arrested for child abuse or neglect. We
> didn't have car seats, seat belts, helmets, and our cribs had slats we
> could stick our heads through,and wooden high chairs we could climb
> out of very easily. HOW DID WE SURVIVE??? ...stuff deleted
There is an overwhelming sense of fear in our society, to the point that
it is laughable. They check your shoes before going into public
buildings because one idiot tried (unsuccessfully, mind you) to do
something bad with shoes on a plane. What's next? Wingtips of mass
destruction?
My brothers and I used to throw knives and screwdrivers in a game
called, "eat the knife" (it was a more innocent time - grin). We
intentionally knocked each other off bikes jousting or dogfighting. The
modern era is so marked by fear that parents won't let their children
play sandlot ball because their future careers could be ruined. It is
insane. Sure, we got hurt and the doctors put us back together so that
we could do it again.
The reality is that children will do dangerous things, learn from their
mistakes, and dust themselves off. Seldom were the injuries serious
enough to warrant medical attention, and even rarer did we go on to do
the really dangerous things that rebelious teens attempt today (such as
kayaking Niagra Falls). Kids learn not to make certain mistakes twice. I
am uncertain whether we are doing them any great favor by trying to
protect them from a natural element of growth.
Rick