We live in a society educated by mass media, and sadly quite a lot people, who are parents now, were kids when it was decided by them by them I mean government, media, child experts, interfering busy bodies, and television, that you
have to protect kids from
any danger, and by any danger I mean not only real dangerous stuff, like playing on the pylons and disused quarries, but kids stuff, broken bones, bloody noses, cuts and bruises, from normal stuff like climbing trees/falling out of trees, dandy cart races, and sledding on plastic tea trays and old spades.
Now, if you were told all your life that green was pink and black was blue, it would take a lot of effort on your part to throw off the trapping of your childhood. Even experts screw it up, now and then
They got it wrong, killing 99% of germs all the times, till your kids are school age just means little super clean Jonnie and Jenny will end up catching all the disease that their class mates bring into school in the first couple of weeks in reception class. Not allowing your kids to play in dirt and soil means they will get no protection from the bugs that may make them a bit sick as kid but may kill them or blind them later in life. By not letting you kids take risks or make decisions as kids where you are there to pick up the pieces, will mean that they will screw it up big time when they have no one is there to sort out their mess.
If my little girl wants to waste her cash on rubbish and sweets, I let her, but once its gone she knows there is no more till pocket money day. She bought a lot of rubbish in the past, but now she has learnt, and saves up for the stuff she really wants, you know the stuff she
still wants after saving up for months. She doesnt come whimpering to me when she has muddy hands, she wipes them on her jeans, just like kids are meant to, (note to mothers, washing clothes gets out all the mud, there is really no need to panic, even a ham-fisted git like me can do it) Im not saying Im any better at letting my little one have as much freedom as I had, because Im not, Im trying really hard to allow her to have a childhood though, and my daughter, unlike her friends, minds less about getting muddy and wet/cold then she does about doing boring
kids stuff.
She gets to play with fire; she gets to play with a sharp SAK she gets to see her food before it looks like food. Im sure when she is old enough to have kids, they will have more freedom, and be able to reclaim childhood. I think by telling kid the truth, and showing them that yes there are dangers, and bad things do happen, that may hurt them, they learn more than protecting them from it.
rant over I return you to your normal service
