Whеn wе wеrе young wе rode bikes οn gravel wіth nο helmets, wiped out (never hаd training wheels), rode gο-carts, used a sleeping bag аѕ a toboggan tο ride down thе staircase, jumped out οf a window аnd onto thе trampoline, climbed & fell out οf trees, etc. Thіѕ wаѕ οnlу 20 years ago.
Whеn wе hаd colds, wе sucked іt up аnd wеnt tο school. Onlу whеn іt became bronchitis οr pneumonia сουld wе stay home! If anyone hаd peanut allergies οr ADD іn thе class, іt wаѕ one person.
Mу girlfriend lost hеr nanny job bесаυѕе ѕhе arrived аt work 2 minutes аftеr thе bus dropped thе kid οff аnd hе managed tο climb аnd fall frοm a tree, аnd “scrape” hіѕ arm. Oυr neighbor’s kids used tο ride around οn thе LAWN οn thеіr bikes wearing helmets аnd knee pads. Thе schools аrе full οf kids οn Ritalin…
Dο уου thіnk thе more careful parents аrе thе safer kids аrе? Or dοеѕ іt mаkе thеm less resilient?
Crazie frog literally mаdе mе laugh out loud! Bull dyke hair cuts!!!
Elated – very gοοd points, bυt 20 years ago wе DID hаνе seat belts. I ѕhουld know…I hаtеd putting mine οn whеn I wаѕ a kid. I thіnk thеrе іѕ a line between common sense аnd јυѕt being over cautious. And I’m nοt talking thаt kids ѕhουld bе allowed tο wander thе streets аt night οr hаνе unrestricted internet access. Whеn I wаѕ young іf уου gοt іn trουblе аt school, уου wеrе going tο gеt іt twice аѕ bаd аt home…now іf a teacher dares discipline a child thеу wіll bе dealing wіth аngrу parents whο believe thеіr kid саn’t dο anything wrοng!!!
I think they are sheltered and many have no idea about life AT ALL. Not to mention that in addition to this overprotective behavior that’s visible, all kids nowadays want to be is rappers and movie stars. Of course without doing any work to actually bring their dreams come true.
Kids today are way too sheltered. They’re not being allowed to live life, they’re handed everything on a silver platter. And if, as parents, we yell, or chastise we’re being bad parents.
I agree that they’re more sheltered/less resilient. I don’t think they’re much safer, and when they’re turned into germophobes, their immune system suffers. It’s not as strong. Kids need a few minor scrapes and falls to learn about protecting themselves and gravity and such.
I think it’s the generation of soccer moms. They have bull dyke hair cuts, always stand with their arms folded like they’re in charge, and act like their little Timmy or Sally is the king/queen of the world. They act like their children can do no wrong.
They are hypochondriacs to their own children. Unfortunately, they live in a sad world that makes them think they are above everyone else
If you live in the city like I do, you’d know that it was more for safety than sheltering kids. My cousin actually got shot and killed just last year. He lived in a nice neighborhood and had no affiliations with drugs or gangs. It’s reality. No one knows why or who shot him he was just walking home from the store.
20 years ago we didn’t have seat belts either, but we now are acutely aware of how much safer we are when we wear them.
We used to leave in the morning and if we were home by the time the street lights were on, it was all good. The world is way too scary now with internet pervs stalking our children, sexual predators praying on our kids, and all the other dangers out there now to allow our children to continue our behavior.
As far as helmets are concerned, that too has proven to reduce the amount of head injuries in bicyclists. . . even adults wear helmets now when riding.
I understand where you are coming from, but we are much more aware two decades later of the dangers that can fall upon us and our children. It is incumbent upon us to protect them.
All I know is my parents were overprotective and they would not allow us to have a mind of our own, because everything was planned in advance. We never had to work, not even do dishes or housework, only get good marks. The positive aspects: good marks, the negative aspects: no work experience, don’t know how to deal with office politics, can’t cook, can’t take care of ourselves, we’re lazy and addicted to video games and we are completely devoided of ambition or motivation. Materially “deprived” children have a much brighter future than those with a possessive mother.
Sadly the world is not the same as it was back then. . . .
I miss those simple days.
With the laws the way they are now days regarding being able to spank or discipline your child, I personally think kids now days are growing up to be puzzys. They know no value of money, they know no value of respect, they know no value of how much family means, they care about their friends more or their computer etc. . .
I am a careful parent but have always let my kids be kids. Im with you, I miss the days of riding my bike with the card in the spokes without a helmet on!. . lol
It’s gotten silly hasn’t it? Even we were sheltered. I know some older guys who when they were 13 were sent up into the foothills alone for the summer with a gun, a pack mule full of supplies and a heard of cattle to take care of on their own. They were each checked up on by their dad once a month. So even we were sissies. Now they’d have you believe that if you spank your kid you traumatize him for life. What a joke.
The shrinks have been running things for decades now and I don’t see things getting any better. You’re right, when we were young nobody had any mental problems (except every schools version of O’l weird Harold). Ritalin is just a drug substitute for the paddle that used to be in the principals office, and also in our day if we fell out of a tree and scratched our elbow nobody would have been blamed for it except us. We’d have simply learned to be more careful.
I could go on forever, what passes for parenting these days is simply theories based on ignorance. We as a species have raised children successfully for hundreds of thousands of years and along come some psychologists who think they can reason better than evolution. Silly people.
I think there are some safety issues that are better adhered to now and there are some that are just taken way too far.
For instance, you mention the trampoline. We have a trampoline in our yard. It isn’t one of the new ones with the padding all over it and the net around it. It’s old school. No padding over the steel springs, no net. All our kids love it, as do our kids’ friends. My girlfriend’s kids even haul it over beside the pool so they can do big air double back flips into the water! The only rules we have about it are the same ones I had when I was a kid: Only one person on it at a time, and stay toward the centre. Nobody has been hurt yet, and I don’t suspect they will any time soon.
On the other hand, I do agree with the bike helmets. I too used to ride all over the place without a helmet. But having raced both road and mountain bikes in the past, I can say that I have been in some horrific crashes and I’m damned glad I was wearing a helmet then.
I’m sometimes tempted to be disbelieving and sceptical of all the safety methods being espoused these days. Especially when I think back, as you have, to when I was a kid and these things were unheard of. But I’d also like to see how the child mortality rates compare, just to have a balanced opinion. I think somethings are worthwhile. But others are just silly false security measures.
Yes Kids are too sheltered and their egos are way too big. About 15 years ago, we all were told that children need to be told they are GREAT no matter what, there are no losers, and needed to be rewarded for basically breathing. It was called self-esteem. It got way out of hand and now we have kids that expect the world to be handed to them without working or contributing to society.
I think parents of today are over parenting and handing kids everything they can buy, for sure. We are so consumed with what our kids are doing, feeling, experiencing, wanting, etc. that we are raising dependant, socially stunted adults. What happened to exploring and discovering without a parent always asking you how you are feeling every 30 seconds? What happened to believing in a relationship between the two parents and not the relationship between 3 or more in a bed? I have been told that co-sleeping fosters a sense of independence for the child. Ok . . . until when? I have seen more 10 year olds still sleeping with their mothers while the father sleeps on the single bed in his child’s room! To me this fosters a young college student never being able to sleep alone . . . . !
Why have parents of today forgotten the difference between ‘need’ and ‘want’. What ever happened to being excited for Christmas and birthdays? Kids today are so over ‘presented’ Christmas/B-days must be boring! This is just the beginning of why so many families face terrible debt.
My family was comfortable but I was NEVER handed money, I was encouraged to make my own and budget wisely. If I ended up without any at the end of the week then that was due to poor budgeting on my part. my consequence was not being able to spend what I didn’t have. Period! I have no fancy education behind me but I certainly have the drive, work ethic and now the assets to live a comfortable life to provide my family with . . . for a lifetime, not just for the next 10 minutes.
Yes, I think we are not arming our kids with the tools they need in life. Love, empathy, money management, independence, awareness, work ethic. I’m sure that there are other adjectives that describe what we should all be equipped with . . . I hope that there are other out there that see what I see and believe in these and/or their own adjectives.
I managed to raise two sons with only a few broken arms, legs and about 120 stitches between them.
I recognized long ago that there is a huge difference between real threats and mostly imagined.
I think the stranger danger is highly over played. The needles and razor blades in Halloween candy thing is a little overdone as well. That does not mean we did not prepare our kids for those danger5rs or take first inspection of candy.
As for bike helmets and seat belts I think it is foolish to have these things available and NOT use them. There were no bike helmets when I was young true, knee pads and elbow pads either.
There were plenty of times with 70’s skateboards and bike spills where I wish I had them.
So I guess the point is, In some areas, like protecting the head from pavement it becomes foolish to allow the stuff to go unused in other areas it is silly to live in fear.
I ride my bicycle for exercise now and log a lot of miles at an average of 14 MPH. There are a lot of places descending where I hit 35 to 40 MPH. If I come off that bike at those speeds wearing the helmet all that time will be worth the effort. The rule here was and is, plastic on the head or no butt on the seat.
Seat belts are very much the same. I am a sports car enthusiast as well. I was at a race once where a convertible Porsche, with roll cage of course, flipped 10 times at 150MPH. The driver walked away. If belts can save your life in an accident why not use them?
I feel strange in a car without restraint now.
As for the trouble in school, I identify with my kids more than I do the teachers. Its not that the kids can do no wrong its that there are far to many teachers who cannot handle boys.
If there was an issue with their behavior it was MY JOB to deal with their punishment. I found very early on that the only advocate for my children in the school was me. I took that job to heart and got them both through college magna cum laude
my way. They felt the paddle but it was MY paddle not some jerk’s with a degree and no sense.
edit- Talk about over protective, the Yamturd will not allow the Latin word for with,
C U M now THAT is silly over protectiveness. .