Risk and Safety

~One of those old time good and scary slides

 that they don't make anymore~

 

I like old playgrounds.  They have fun things to play on-

teeter totters, merry-go-rounds, scary slides.

All the new parks have little playsets that are fun for a

little while, but get boring pretty soon.  The swings are

too short, so you can't swing high anymore, the slides

are short, so you don't get that thrill in your stomach

as you go down.  You know what I mean.

 

What's up with all this safety stuff?

Do we really need a babysitter telling us whether it's

too risky to ride my bike without a helmet,

have a trampoline for my kids to jump on,

or let my kid play football because he might get a concussion?

 

Part of growing up is learning about risk and reward-

if our kids aren't allowed to take risks,

I wonder what the consequences will be when they are adults?

 

Will they ever achieve much in life?

It's risky to start a business,

be a policeman or fireman,

or even have children!

 

I don't know, it's just something I wonder about.

If kids are just told all the time,

"Don't do that, you might get hurt!",

how will they learn?

 

Of course, as parents we have a job to protect

our children, but it just seems like it's been taken

way too far lately.  You know?  People just want

to keep their kids "safe" inside the house playing video games.

 

Just my opinion...