The Overprotected Kid

[Sgt Beavis]

Here's a very well thought out article on the need of our kids to have risky play. The kind of play that we had when I was a kid in the 70s and 80s. It spells out the needs of kids to engage in risky behavior and the dangers to them if they don't.

It is a VERY long article. Worth a read if your a parent.

http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/

I remember when the kinds of things I did for play when I was a kid would send shivers down the spine of some kids today. That is a shame because it shouldn't. However I am encouraged to see the kids in our neighborhood get out there and mix it up a bit.

[soap]

I grew up and survived the late 70s and 80s, our parents just told us to be careful, so they pretty much let us do what we wanted to do, I remember one of my favorite things to do is going in the woods looking for frogs and snakes, to test out my homemade poisons On LOL, that and I Loved ATARI.

[Sgt Beavis]

I grew up and survived the late 70s and 80s, our parents just told us to be careful, so they pretty much let us do what we wanted to do, I remember one of my favorite things to do is going in the woods looking for frogs and snakes, to test out my homemade poisons On LOL, that and I Loved ATARI.

We would go out in the woods behind our apartments to catch crawfish, minnows, snapping turtles, and the occasional water moccasin..

When I was 10, I thought it would be a good idea to weld some pipe to a bicycle. So I taped the pipe to the bike frame and used a can of WD40 and a lighter to try and melt them together. Needless to say, my early career as a welder was short lived. But it sure was fun.. haha..

[soap]

We would go out in the woods behind our apartments to catch crawfish, minnows, snapping turtles, and the occasional water moccasin..

When I was 10, I thought it would be a good idea to weld some pipe to a bicycle. So I taped the pipe to the bike frame and used a can of WD40 and a lighter to try and melt them together. Needless to say, my early career as a welder was short lived. But it sure was fun.. haha..

See that's what I'm talking about, that's living, Nowadays the kids are more books smart than we were, but a lot of them don't have any streetSmarts,

[BLAKE]

Good old days syndrome. Kids are still kids. There's more distraction in the way of tech and hyper protective parenting, but nature finds it's level. I challenge you to find a kid that doesn't do their share of creek stomping and the equivalent of melting their little plastic army men like we all did. If you do find a wallflower, they are the exception to the rule.

My little girl (8yo) is as girly as they come, but she still loves to throw rocks in the pond and look for tadpoles, and she's pretty good with her little kid bow and arrow.

See that's what I'm talking about, that's living, Nowadays the kids are more books smart than we were, but a lot of them don't have any streetSmarts,

wut

[jw33]

I learned everything I know from the A-Team/MacGyver and I got hit with a .22 ricochet when I was 11 or 12. I don't even have any permanent marks from any of it.

[cyclonescott]

When I was 5 I thought it would be a good idea to hit a .22 round with a 10 pound sledge hammer. Damn that was loud. My ears rang for days.

[Cooter]

I grew up and survived the late 70s and 80s, our parents just told us to be careful, so they pretty much let us do what we wanted to do, I remember one of my favorite things to do is going in the woods looking for frogs and snakes, to test out my homemade poisons On LOL, that and I Loved ATARI.

I fuckin' knew you were a serial killer

[soap]

I fuckin' knew you were a serial killer

When it comes to snakes frogs yes I am,

I loved sneaking my moms cleaning supplies away, mixing shit up coming up with different names like formula x25 X 30 Etc. Clorox and ammonia mixed together with some water. Will fuck up a snake fast, as well as the users eyes and lungs.

[turboford]

When it comes to snakes frogs yes I am,

I loved sneaking my moms cleaning supplies away, mixing shit up coming up with different names like formula x25 X 30 Etc. Clorox and ammonia mixed together with some water. Will fuck up a snake fast, as well as the users eyes and lungs.

So that explains it.

[Denny]

Fuck that nonsense! I did a ton of stupid shit with others doing stupid shit. A lot of us got messed up pretty bad. I had two friends parylized and one die with dirt bikes. One kid was killed by a rattle snake. Three different times I witnessed broken bones on monkey bars (heard of others). One girl was poisoned by eating Comet just a couple houses down from me. I personally knew two kids that came up missing.

My aunt was a nurse in the ER ever since I could remember. She says that kids are much safer these days, but they still roll in steady.

Call me overprotective; I don't care. I get pissed off all the time when I see unsupervised children. People are dumb and lazy parents. Many don't deserve children. Kids are kids and it is part of growing up to test and explore limitations. It's our job to show them those limitations before they are reached.

You can give a child a full childhood with great experiences without being a dousche bag parent that has a child's serious injury or death on their hands.

So, if you don't want your children to live a "sheltered" life, then get off your asses and explore their curiosities with them!

Go kill a small animal
Go blow something up
Go start a fire
Shoot some shit
Camp!
Climb some big ass trees
Go jump dirt mounds
Throw shit off buildings

Have the kids take some controlled risks and supervise/protect/educate them as you go. Have fun with them and both of you will learn so much.

That controlled play area is a pretty cool idea. I just hate lazy parents using an excuse like "I let my kid just do whatever because I want him/her to experience childhood without being sheltered or overprotected."

[trblshooter]

Go kill a small animal
Go blow something up
Go start a fire
Shoot some shit
Camp!
Climb some big ass trees
Go jump dirt mounds
Throw shit off buildings

Scouts
<--- Order of the Arrow, Philmont '95 North Trek, Philmont '96 South Trek.

My two boys aren't old enough yet but we'll be hiking the same trails.

[MattB]

When it comes to snakes frogs yes I am,

I loved sneaking my moms cleaning supplies away, mixing shit up coming up with different names like formula x25 X 30 Etc. Clorox and ammonia mixed together with some water. Will fuck up a snake fast, as well as the users eyes and lungs.

Straight-up psychopath!!

[talisman]

Soap, there is something wrong with you, and I'm not saying that in a funny or ironic way.

We had a creek and woods behind our neighborhood and many days were spent exploring back there, swimming(bad idea, lol), swinging on vines and other general anarchy. Summer was spent blowing up lego cars with fireworks and experimenting in various ways with fire. When my friends and I got bored we would find a huge hill to ride our bikes down at terminal velocity and hope no cars pulled out from side streets, or run across I20. Ah youth.

[Snatch Napkin]

Scouts
<--- Order of the Arrow, Philmont '95 North Trek, Philmont '96 South Trek.

My two boys aren't old enough yet but we'll be hiking the same trails.

Fucking RIGHT!!!

<-------Philmont North Trek '91, Philmont Mountain Man expedition '94