Handstands & Cartwheels

An irresistible blog post media frenzy yesterday after another public school has declared a ban on these potentially life threatening children's activities; handstands, cartwheels and somersaults! I heard it on the radio driving to work, colleagues talked about it at work, heard it on the radio driving home from work, so it was a topic of much attention yesterday. A quick google search brings up a myriad of newspapers who ran the story also.

All saying the same thing. Have we as a society become so risk adverse and litigation phobic that our children cannot be children? The classic scenario where what happens to a minority becomes public policy for the majority. A few children have injured themselves in school and their parents then sued the school for not having qualified supervision. It's like the precedent case of someone suing MacDonald's for serving hot coffee & burning themselves. Honestly, where the hell has personal responsibility gone? Must others pay for ones own silly mistakes or must someone else be responsible for what was a genuine accident? I fear we take it to the extreme.

A part of being a kid is falling off your bike learning to ride, getting a few cuts & scratches & trying again. A part of being a kid is learning to do handstands, cartwheels and tumble turns, running around at lunch time at school in the play ground, bumping into each other, getting up and carrying on. It's life. It's an intrinsic part of growing up, childhood development. We cannot wrap our children in cotton wool and expect them to never hurt themselves. Its unrealistic and unhealthy to be overprotective.

One newspaper article even stated that other schools had banned hugging, running and playing tiggy. "Hugging may set a bad example to younger children of unwarranted behaviour". For goodness sake! Have we gone completely mad! Soon we won't be able to talk to each other in case we say something offensively! And running and playing tiggy in some playgrounds was too risky because they were overcrowded and children may collide into each other. Thankfully our school has no such silly rules and has wonderful safe, grassy, wide open spaces for kids to play free range.

We have two large trampolines in our backyard without nets or bumper pads. I am probably a very irresponsible parent but my sons do backflips and all sorts of weird and wonderful things on those things! My sons long board down hills at great speed (with helmets of course) and have suffered all manner of accidents from super grazed knees, hands & elbows, friends with near broken ribs and skin ripped to the bone. They skate at their own risk. That's a part of being a boy. The thrill seeker in each young lad seeking his next adventure. Outdoor activities are fast being over ridden by the seductive lure of sedentary technological ones. I think the greater risk than litigation is the dangerous risk of emasculating our sons if we don't allow them to pursue wild (within reason of course) activities and learn to defend, protect, be responsible and look out for  themselves and their mates. That's an an integral part of growing up.

There is no easy, one size fits all approach, but I do wonder if the same parents outraged at the school bans are the same parents that if their children were hurt in the school yard would quickly sue at the potential revenue making opportunity? On one hand we live in a nation of incredible liberties, a democratic government, a society that embraces diversity and progressiveness, on the other hand, one that binds us up in fear based laws and bans that take away freedoms most of us over the age of 40 enjoyed as a child!

Cherishing childhood and the freedoms to explore it should come packaged with, in case it gets completely taken away.......