Advice If Possible About 10-year-olds

[cdnvic]

I am so tired saying, "Please don't play with sharp knives", "Please don't climb to the top of that tall tree," be careful on the road with the bike"........

You did say a laugh too:

The following should have been posted in the Jokes Forum but I thought it was relevant here too.

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1930's 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and

80's!!!

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they

carried us.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't, get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored

lead-based paints.

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when

we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took

hitchhiking.

As children, we would ride in cars with no seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.

We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE

actually died from this.

We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank soda pop with sugar

in it, but we weren't overweight because

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were

back when the streetlights came on.

No one was able to reach us all day. And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down

the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all,

no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell

phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms..........WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents.

We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us

forever.

We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with sticks and

tennis balls and although we were told it would happen, we did not put out

very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang

the bell, or just yelled for them!

Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't

had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.

They actually sided with the law!

This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers

and inventors ever!

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned

HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!

And YOU are one of them! CONGRATULATIONS!

You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up

as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated our lives for our own good.

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how

brave their parents were.

Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?

cv

[chanchao]

Well, I think there's a clear difference between really dangerous behavior which warrants a 'shock & awe' response, and general mayem. Stuff like playing with fire, running across a road require shock & awe. Possibly being very graphic showing the consequences of such behavior.

Then the general mayem issues can be managed with chains & duct tape.

No seriously, consider that climbing trees IS fun, AND a very valueable skill since prehistoric times. Even in this day and age, certain kids survived the Tsunami because of this skill. All kids fall out of trees and off bicycles. That teaches them a thing or two, too.

My mum took the approach of doing the fun things together in a safe and controlled environment, including setting fire to all kinds of things. (Well, except frogs, come to think of it..) Again, fire IS fascinating, and again a useful skill to master since prehistoric times.. And, it's an excellent opportunity to teach not just how to burn stuff, but also how to put it out again and generally what to do in case of a fire. So be ready for shock & awe when a line is crossed, but don't turn your son into a lady.

And by the way, if you think climbing trees is an issue, wait until he discovers motorcycles.

Cheers,.

Chanchao

[seonai]

Chan we've done the motorbike thing too. Where I live kids drive from the age of 7 ish He's been allowed to pop down to the shop on it a couple of times and has dropped it three times so I am saying no more motorbikes until he's older and more sensible.

Lourens - thanks for that great post! Deserves Post of the Day !!!!!

Thanks too for everyone's advice, many useful bits in there. I feel a lot happier.