do-gooders set out to wreck the playground

[strmrdr]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,210351,00.html

Whats next outlaw sidewalks and make it abuse to make the kid walk more than between the xbox and the fridge?

 

[codex57]

The old days were fine.

It was also a time when you took a rodent like this Donna Thompson out back behind the shed and shot it. It's scum like that who are building up a new generation of useless losers with an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Geez. I'm 27 and I feel like an old cranky grandpa already.

 

[strmrdr]

Date: 8/25/2006 6:03:07 PM
Author: codex57
The old days were fine.

It was also a time when you took a rodent like this Donna Thompson out back behind the shed and shot it. It''s scum like that who are building up a new generation of useless losers with an overwhelming sense of entitlement. Geez. I''m 27 and I feel like an old cranky grandpa already.

Iv got 10 years on ya and feel that way all the time...
its a different world today and not a better one.....
I feel sorry for a lot of kids growing up these days.
There are some awesome parents out there that try but it seems like the deck is getting more and more stacked against them.

 

[Ellen]

"and Spokane, Wash., the ban even includes the first playground game most children learn first: tag."

WTH??

And I''ve got almost 10 years on strm. I really feel old, and sad. Gives the "good old days" a whole new meaning...

 

[fire&ice]

I blame the sue happy lawyers. Someone in my friends neighborhood was sued for doctor''s bills when a child took it upon themselves to play on their swing set. Supposedly, it was an attractive nuisance. Where were the parents who supposed to supervise them?

Another person has a trampoline. They will not let ANYONE on it unless there is a waiver signed by the parents. A lawyer in the neighborhood refused. The person wouldn''t let the child on. The lawyer is calling them foul an unfair to their child.

 

[fire&ice]

Oh - and not to mention - 15 children die in playground incidents. It's a tradegy - but how many children will die or have heart disesase, diabetes, etc. from being overweight or sededary?

 

[Ellen]

Whatever happened to an "accident".

 

[Erin]

this fits with the other article claiming we''re collectively raising a generation of wimps

everyone makes the little league team
parents fight their children''s battles
everything is padded and disinfected
Johnny''s needs are special therefore he is exempt
there''s a drug for any shortcomings a child may have

 

[codex57]

Date: 8/26/2006 10:04:13 AM
Author: fire&ice
I blame the sue happy lawyers. Someone in my friends neighborhood was sued for doctor''s bills when a child took it upon themselves to play on their swing set. Supposedly, it was an attractive nuisance. Where were the parents who supposed to supervise them?

I totally agree. I blame the sue happy lawyers and the spineless judges that allow it to happen. And I''m a lawyer too.

 

[divergrrl]

Date: 8/28/2006 12:19:01 PM
Author: Starset Princess
this fits with the other article claiming we're collectively raising a generation of wimps

everyone makes the little league team
parents fight their children's battles
everything is padded and disinfected
Johnny's needs are special therefore he is exempt
there's a drug for any shortcomings a child may have

Ok, I agree with Starset Princess on her points about making life too easy for kids and raising a generation of wimps. We should not fight our kids battles, or do their homework, or medicate without real cause....


BUT....

As a parent, (and I'm a ripe old 36) I feel that making playgrounds safer is important. I hated dodge ball in grade school, (and I was a child athlete, competing nationally as a figure skater since I was 5--so I was strong & fast--not weak) because it hurt to get hit, and the bullies always picked opn the weak guys--especially the kid with scoliosis wearing the neck brace. At 9 I knew that was just plain wrong.

As a mom, I think we should make things as safe as we can for our kids.

Did you know that accidents (household, car, & yes, even playground) claim more children's lives each year than ALL childhood illnesses combined?

My stepmom just retired from teaching gradeschool for 32 years --- she says her years of playground duty have given her gray hair & she's seen too many broken bones, busted open heads, stitches & other injuries than she cares for. So naturally, she's a big old wreck when we go to the playground with my son.

So I read that article, nodding my head, agreeing--and thinking YES! Make the play equipment safer!

IMO life is hard enough -- if you can miss a broken bone or two along the way..well great.

That said...

I honestly don't think all kids should make the little league team
I think there IS such a thing as 1st, 2nd, 3rd place
I think able bodied middle schoolers SHOULD mow the lawn, pull weeds & wash their parent's car (oh and scoop poop)
And all kids should know how to read a bus schedule, make a few meals, and do laundry.


Cheers,

Jeannine

p.s. just curious, how many of us who posted to this thread actually have children? My awareness of danger is like a raw, exposed, nerve now that I am a mom--in a way it never was before I had children (even though I've always been a seat-belt wearing safety girl).

 

[portoar]

Sorry. Don''t see anything wrong with constructing playground equipment to be safer. Some thought has been put into the design of modern equipment, as opposed to those rusted out old metal things we played on as kids. Nothing wrong with putting down shock absorbing material in areas where we are encouraging kids to climb, jump, etc.

 

[fire&ice]

The problem is - in most cases they are not making the playgrounds safer. They are closing the ones already in existence. Money is not there to upgrade.

I don''t think one has to have children to have an opinion on the issue. I''ve had many a share of playground duty with few incidents & usually not because of equipment failure. We have playground equipment that children can not play on anymore. They aren''t making any effort to make the equipment safer - just abandoning the existing.

This is one of those "be careful what you wish for".

 

[Ellen]

Just for the record, I have 3 boys. 22, 20, 16