SAFETY AT ALL COSTS

We had an abandoned quarry not far from where I grew up. When I was 14 or so, a bunch of us pooled our cash and bought an old dirt bike so that we might enjoy concussions and fractures in this perfect venue. None of our parents seemed to mind; in fact, some wondered if we weren't acting a little girly, what with our wearing advanced safety equipment like "helmets" and "shoes".

As Joanne Jacobs reports, times have changed:

Children learn to cope with the world through outdoor activities, writes a British educator. But adult fears are restricting children's ability to explore the world. And they're not any safer as a result.

Please discuss, parents: are you more safety-inclined than were your parents? And what insane risks did you take as kids that would now induce rage and fear if repeated by your children?

UPDATE. Disabled veteran Mike Weatherford tells his harrowing (and charming) childhood story:

I've fallen out of trees, cut my foot on broken glass, carved my own fingers while whittling, and even once jammed a piece of barbed wire completely through my bare foot. I've been stung by scorpions and just about every kind of bee and wasp that lives in Louisiana. I stepped into a yellow jacket nest when I was sixteen, and was stung so many times my parents were afraid I'd go into shock ... Through all the wildness, the craziness, the escape from adult supervision, and 'learning the hard way', I lived, and lived well, as a child.



Posted by Tim Blair at November 30, 2004 02:27 AM

