One of S. favorite CDs is called Benjamin Blümchen as a pediatrician. It’s about an elephant (who is very famous amongst German children), which has to substitute for the real, measles-stricken, doctor.
My favorite part is, when a mom comes into the clinic with her daughter, complaining that the child is always tired and does nothing but read. Benjamin tries to find out what is wrong with her and starts to ask her questions: " What is your favorite game at daycare?" Instead of the girl you hear the mom holler: "Daycare??? My Kathrin does not go to daycare. There are horrible kids that could teach her bad words!" "Oh" says Benjamin "ok, no daycare... mhhh, what do you like best at the playground then?" "Playground???" you hear mum shout "We do not go to the playground. Kathrin might climb on things and fall and scratch her knee!!!" Benjamin starts to get a bit desperate "But...but...äh, do you like to ride your bike then?" "Ride her bike, are you crazy? That is way to dangerous, she might get run over by a car...!" Benjamin looks at the girl and says: "But what are you doing all day then, when you are not allowed to play, to be with other kids or ride the bike?" "Well, I lay down on my bed and read", says the girl. Benjamin's cure for her is a receipt that ordinates going to the playground, playing with other kids, climbing and scratching her knee at least once a week.
Isn’t it brilliant? It makes me chuckle every time we listen to the CD, because it so nicely illustrates the apparently increasing over-protectiveness amongst parents and also the society per se.
I have previously written about the fondness of kids-harnesses over here and seeing a kid strapped into one still amazes me time and time again. I just cannot understand why people prefer to have their kids on a "leash" instead of just holding their hands. Is it really that dangerous to walk around?
Unfortunately, I could not find any numbers on accidents related to harness-less kids that escaped from their parents, while on a walk and got hurt but instead I stumbled upon a UK-wide poll from 2007, which found that half of 7-12 year olds have been stopped from climbing trees 21% had been banned from playing conkers and 17% were not allowed to play chase. Amazing, isn´t it?
It really makes me wonder how those kids will do later in life? It’s not like life gets nicer the older we get or that dangerous situations no longer exist. How will those children know their limits, if they never get a chance to test them? Looking back to my own childhood, some of the best memories I have involve trees, rivers, woods, playing chase and bike rides around town. And yes, of course, I fell and cried, got bruises and scars but do I look at those moments in regret? Not at all. Seeing my scars is more like a trophy, a daily reminder of the great times and the freedom I had as a child.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that one should not be careful at times and it is important to do some risk assessment before you let the kids do certain things, but at the same time it is necessary to not only focus on the dangers but also on the possibilities. The two go hand in hand. Always. In your life as well as in that of the children. The more children are deprived of those choices, the less likely are they are to learn judging situations for themselves. And that, in my opinion leads to, that we turn into a society of chickens, afraid of everything and seeing dangers lurking in every corner. Risk taking is a big NO NO and our boundaries are getting tighter and tighter and soon we might not even be allowed to use the toilet before reading the safety instructions.
Luckily, we are not really there yet but our awareness/fear of new threats and hazards from hitherto unknown sources increases by the day. This is the latest example I stumbled upon the other day in our local Waitrose store:
My favorite part is, when a mom comes into the clinic with her daughter, complaining that the child is always tired and does nothing but read. Benjamin tries to find out what is wrong with her and starts to ask her questions: " What is your favorite game at daycare?" Instead of the girl you hear the mom holler: "Daycare??? My Kathrin does not go to daycare. There are horrible kids that could teach her bad words!" "Oh" says Benjamin "ok, no daycare... mhhh, what do you like best at the playground then?" "Playground???" you hear mum shout "We do not go to the playground. Kathrin might climb on things and fall and scratch her knee!!!" Benjamin starts to get a bit desperate "But...but...äh, do you like to ride your bike then?" "Ride her bike, are you crazy? That is way to dangerous, she might get run over by a car...!" Benjamin looks at the girl and says: "But what are you doing all day then, when you are not allowed to play, to be with other kids or ride the bike?" "Well, I lay down on my bed and read", says the girl. Benjamin's cure for her is a receipt that ordinates going to the playground, playing with other kids, climbing and scratching her knee at least once a week.
Isn’t it brilliant? It makes me chuckle every time we listen to the CD, because it so nicely illustrates the apparently increasing over-protectiveness amongst parents and also the society per se.
I have previously written about the fondness of kids-harnesses over here and seeing a kid strapped into one still amazes me time and time again. I just cannot understand why people prefer to have their kids on a "leash" instead of just holding their hands. Is it really that dangerous to walk around?
Unfortunately, I could not find any numbers on accidents related to harness-less kids that escaped from their parents, while on a walk and got hurt but instead I stumbled upon a UK-wide poll from 2007, which found that half of 7-12 year olds have been stopped from climbing trees 21% had been banned from playing conkers and 17% were not allowed to play chase. Amazing, isn´t it?
It really makes me wonder how those kids will do later in life? It’s not like life gets nicer the older we get or that dangerous situations no longer exist. How will those children know their limits, if they never get a chance to test them? Looking back to my own childhood, some of the best memories I have involve trees, rivers, woods, playing chase and bike rides around town. And yes, of course, I fell and cried, got bruises and scars but do I look at those moments in regret? Not at all. Seeing my scars is more like a trophy, a daily reminder of the great times and the freedom I had as a child.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that one should not be careful at times and it is important to do some risk assessment before you let the kids do certain things, but at the same time it is necessary to not only focus on the dangers but also on the possibilities. The two go hand in hand. Always. In your life as well as in that of the children. The more children are deprived of those choices, the less likely are they are to learn judging situations for themselves. And that, in my opinion leads to, that we turn into a society of chickens, afraid of everything and seeing dangers lurking in every corner. Risk taking is a big NO NO and our boundaries are getting tighter and tighter and soon we might not even be allowed to use the toilet before reading the safety instructions.
Luckily, we are not really there yet but our awareness/fear of new threats and hazards from hitherto unknown sources increases by the day. This is the latest example I stumbled upon the other day in our local Waitrose store:
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| Who would have known they are such vicious little bastards! |
Honestly, who wants to live in a world where you have to have signs like that? Where is our common sense? Did it die and we did not realize it? Or is it just me, thinking this is crazy? I would love to hear your comments.
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