Has our society become such Helicopter Parents that our kids should be wrapped in bubble wrap?
This article appeared in my local paper on Sept 1.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Elementary school playgrounds in one West Virginia county are losing their swing sets.Swings are being removed from Cabell County schools in southern West Virginia in part because of lawsuits over injuries.Cabell County schools safety manager Tim Stewart said Wednesday that a lot of parents are accusing him of being un-American, but he says the cost of maintaining a safe surface is too expensive.Stewart says a lawsuit in the past year involved a youngster who broke his arm jumping off a swing like Superman. It was settled for $20,000.Other equipment such as monkey bars will remain. Stewart says the schools are able to maintain the proper protection underneath them.
Are you kidding me? Someone actually sued because their child fell and broke their arm?
Isn't falling off a swing a part of childhood ritual? If my parents sued every time I or my brothers fell and hurt ourselves, we would of been RICH.
Whats the matter with these people?
While I think that some of the things we did as kids we shouldn't of, such as riding a bike without wearing a helmet, there have got to be some LIMITS to how much we coddle our kids!
If we continue to baby our kids, they will never learn their own limits.
Like swinging on a swing. "Ok, the last time I was swinging, I didn't hold on tight enough and I fell and broke my arm. This time I know to hold on tight."
Instead this kid is thinking, "its the schools fault I hurt myself, it wasn't my fault. I can continue to do it like I did before, because it gave my parents lots of money, and it wasn't my fault"
If you never let your kid fall and get hurt, how will they know how far is to far?
Be there to kiss the booboo, but then send them on their way!
What kind of adults are these coddled kids going to turn in to?
When I was a child I had a cousin that lived with her grandparents. This cousin was not allowed to have friends over (they might be mean to her), she wasn't allowed to go to friends houses (who knows what the child's parents might do to her), she wasn't allowed to come to the park with us (she might fall and get hurt), she wasn't allowed to talk on the phone (she might hear something that the g-parents couldn't). She wasn't allowed to date (she could of gotten pregnant), if she was wronged in anyway it was always someone elses fault. Basically this girl grew up smothered under her grandparents care.
What happened then when she turned 18, and actually left the house for the first time?
She married the VERY first guy she looked at within weeks of meeting him, started drinking, using drugs, got divorced, married the very next guy she looked at within weeks of meeting him, had a child, got divorced, married yet another guy within DAYs of meeting him, now they are divorcing, and we have lost all touch with her.
She is not even 30.
If her grandparents had allowed her to go places, experience life, have friends, learn how to talk and communicate with peers, learn from her mistakes, and have a safe place to come home to, I bet more than anything she would not have turned out like the adult she has become.
She is the way she is now because she never learned any limits. When she was free of her grandparents she didn't know how to control herself. The sky was the limit for her. Now she is bouncing all over the place with no control or understanding of how to stop.
I hope she does learn to control herself.
Before she ends up dead.
Parents!! You HAVE to give your kids breathing room. Let them figure things out on their own. Offer advice, don't do it for them. And STOP STOP STOP blaming every other thing around them when they fail. They can not learn success if they don't fail!
And DO NOT take away my children's right to swing on a swing just because your kid broke their arm. Take them to a DR, get it set, and let them swing again.
Have I made my point?
