Are we overprotective?

Link

In Britain the parliamentary secretary of the Department of Children, Schools and Families, Kevin Brennan, says more than one third of children never play outside.

Why? Because of adult fears that they will be kidnapped or abused, or that they will fall off playground equipment or a skateboard.

It's a phenomenon that has arisen with, or perhaps even preceded, the politically correct attitudes of today.

Science has long ago proven that over-protection of children from bacteria will ultimately result in a more vulnerable-to-disease child.

IMO, the same goes for mental and physical toughness.

It's a scary thought that tomorrow's leaders will be wimps.

Mind you, having said that, I will protect my children from molesters, bullies, real danger etc.....but a few knee and elbow grazes from falling off the bike is all part of growing up.

I think there is a middle road between callous disregard and wrapping in cotton wool.

I spend a greater part of my life with Tommy, now aged 6, and I now go through all the thoughts and emotions that my old grandad must have gone through.

Mollycoddling isn't on my agenda, we do jump in the water together and try cartwheels (not sure about gluing the fingers together though), kids do need to explore and experience as much as possible, I guess it's all in the supervision, having as safe an environment as possible but still being able to let them climb the tree.

(be sure to have antiseptic & bandaids at hand )

My 14-month-old daughter fell off the furniture the other day, banged her head rather badly.

Put ice on the lump, which she didn't like, and now try to stop her walking so close to the edge of the settee, in case it happens again.

But stop her? Never.

My 14-month-old daughter fell off the furniture the other day, banged her head rather badly.

Put ice on the lump, which she didn't like, and now try to stop her walking so close to the edge of the settee, in case it happens again.

But stop her? Never.

Often, the lesson hard learnt is the best lesson.

I don't ever want to see my children cry or hurt. But the practicality is that over-protecting them from physical knocks is the same as spoiling them....so sometimes I have to just let them learn the hard way.

Obviously I would not let the child stick a fork in a power socket or toaster. There is a line to be drawn by common sense.

Some say safety first.......

Indeed....this is what the OP is all about.

I pity that kid, I really do.

Indeed....this is what the OP is all about.

I pity that kid, I really do.

This ones probably more our style...

Oh no!!! He's got his mouth open, and eyes open.....he will be infected by amoeba or some nasty germ in the water!!!! Chlorine will damage his eyes!!

What were his parent's thinking when they allowed this!!!???

my 7 y.o. niece came home from school today with a bandage on her head and I was alarmed...she wasn't too upset; she displayed it as a badge of honor...

^ I wanted to shake her by her skinny little shoulders and shout: 'whatsamatta wid choo? yer supposed to fall down and scream...do a Scarlett O'Hara...anything but nonchalance!'

can't do nothin' wid dese country girls...

Am I being over protective ? I was still here in Saudi when the Mrs told me that Tia loves going on the motorbike. Me being farang, I insisted that if she must go on the bike she must get a safer seat for my girl to ride around on. So the following week, my mrs told me over the phone that she had got a seat for the bike. You can imagine my face when I arrived the other week to find this:-

Am I being over protective

Am I being over protective ? I was still here in Saudi when the Mrs told me that Tia loves going on the motorbike. Me being farang, I insisted that if she must go on the bike she must get a safer seat for my girl to ride around on. So the following week, my mrs told me over the phone that she had got a seat for the bike. You can imagine my face when I arrived the other week to find this:-

Am I being over protective

Kids and motorbikes do not go well together.

Can't get helmets that would protect them, and even if you could, their skulls re not yet up to the trauma of a full-scale crash.

Wish I could persuade my missus that I would prfer that she didn't ride herself, let alone take our daughter with her.

As a pre WW2 baby, I am glad I have lived in the mid latter 20th century.

I would extremely dislike being a kid growing up now.

Guess my school has long been closed.

The School of Hard Knocks.

Great learning times...... espeshully fun times.

As a pre WW2 baby, I am glad I have lived in the mid latter 20th century.

I would extremely dislike being a kid growing up now.

Guess my school has long been closed.

The School of Hard Knocks.

Great learning times...... espeshully fun times.

yew shure that wasn't The School of Hard Knockers?

for everyone of an "older"generation who claims that the newest generation are wrapped in cotton wool there would have been plenty of kids in their own generation who were also not allowed out & coddled. Fearful parents are not a new invention

I see plenty of kids today riding bikes, playing games & generally being kids outdoors (and certainly more in Europe with the abundance of outdoor activities for kids in comparison to Thailand) but a fact of life is, that child abuse/kidnapping/murders is more visibly reported these days, increased (excessive?) traffic mean that it IS more dangerous to let your kids just run wild in the streets & the technology today means that kids interests have shifted & now also include being indoors surfing the net or playing games.

I think you make a fair point Boo, but nonetheless, there does seem to be more institutionalised mollycoddling now. E.g, playgrounds used to be constructed over concrete: if you fell off the swing, you'd get a graze. Nowadays, the swing has rubber tiles built under it.

I think it is a good thing that they put rubber mats down.....but it is a symptom of the general attitude that children should never have to suffer the smallest scratch.

Heck, even mosquito bites; in my day, you suffered them as a matter of course. These days, people act as if they have been bitten by a venemous snake if they get one tiny mossy bite.

You can see it in the kid's reactions too. We used to bike around. If you fell off and scraped your elbow...you said "ow", then carried on riding. Kides these days seem to bawl their eyes out at the slightest scratch, and stop riding...perhaps forever. They have been conditioned to think that it is something major, and that it is unacceptable.

I think you make a fair point Boo, but nonetheless, there does seem to be more institutionalised mollycoddling now. E.g, playgrounds used to be constructed over concrete: if you fell off the swing, you'd get a graze. Nowadays, the swing has rubber tiles built under it.

I think it is a good thing that they put rubber mats down.....but it is a symptom of the general attitude that children should never have to suffer the smallest scratch.

Heck, even mosquito bites; in my day, you suffered them as a matter of course. These days, people act as if they have been bitten by a venemous snake if they get one tiny mossy bite.

You can see it in the kid's reactions too. We used to bike around. If you fell off and scraped your elbow...you said "ow", then carried on riding. Kides these days seem to bawl their eyes out at the slightest scratch, and stop riding...perhaps forever. They have been conditioned to think that it is something major, and that it is unacceptable.

My 14-month old daughter has been toddling for a few weeks now. At first she sat down/fell over a lot, but without any fuss. Then my wife went home to Philippines for a couple of weeks and grandmother kept picking up daughter when she fell over. This generated tears and drama.

Now they're back with me - it is just a "Whoops-a-daisy" / "Jump up, now" and daughter again picks herself up and toddles off to do whatever it was she had set out to do (unless she'd forgotten after the first few steps)

It is those surrounding the kids that make the drama, the kids just cash in on it.