"Any of us" meaning anyone not in today's generation of kids. How did we ever survive riding bikes without helmets, or jumping on (gasp!) trampolines not entirely enclosed in a net?? Before I keep sounding so shocked and exasperated with these safety measures, let me say that there is no way I'm NOT helmeting Nuala or Bran, and we totally want a trampoline -- WITH A NET. How easy is that? Just zip 'em in there and let 'em go! I do love it. It's just funny to me.
I'm just thinking of this because every single time we go bike riding, I am loathe to put on my helmet. Part of it is how freakishly tall it is. Bike helmets are just ugly, your head looks like an alien's, with a funky crest protruding off it. And I'm not vain...okay, I am. They're just ugly. Nuala and Bran's are cute, but they can pull anything off. Trust me, no one wants to see me jumping about in just my bday suit, but throw Nuala out there and those chubby little buns are just "Awwwww" inspiring. Second reason I hate helmets: I feel like a big sissy. Did anyone my age wear helmets as a kid? Anyone?? No! It wasn't done! No one wears helmets here unless they're super-serious cyclists, hunched over their handlebars in bright yellow spandex. Everyone else just looks so free!
But I will keep helmeting myself. Because there's no way I'm letting N&B not wear one, and I hafta be an example, etc, etc. And because I don't want to die or end up a vegetable, more especially now that I have these awesome little kiddos in my life and I want to keep being their mom here on earth. Not that I wanted to die or be injured before, but I'm a little less likely to take unnecessary risks. Like I want to go skydiving again, but I'm not pushing for it as much I would have in the past. So the helmet will stay. And I do think they're great and are life-saving and that everyone should wear them, but I also long for the free feeling of just jumping on a bike and going, like when I was a kid. Somehow putting on a helmet makes it seem so much more serious. And I am definitely even more convinced to wear a helmet here in Uruguay, as you would be too if you saw the drivers. So, yay helmets, boo to the no-more-freedom-from-worry of childhood.
Trampolines. We went to a party Saturday -- the Marine Appreciation BBQ. It was a lot of fun, and the hosts have a trampoline. Nicely netted, of course. And I'm all for that! Z's sis's trampoline is netted and it's so much safer. Especially nice for these itty bitty fearless ones (ahem, Nuala and Bran...) who can't bounce off the side. Or for when they get in a huge wrestle-fight because one of them got the other's barrette and stuck it in his mouth and she really, really wants it back and they're rolling around tripping kids and...you get the idea...So we plan on getting one with a net, but how unheard of would that have been in our childhood? Very. A net would have prevented many an injury.
We were lucky: with 5 kids, plus all the neighbors/friends, and a trampoline since I was 10 until after I left home, we never had a broken bone. Loads of other injuries, but no breaks. And we were not exactly...careful... Crack the Egg! Remember that game? So fun. So dangerous. Our favorite, though was Dodge Ball. One or two or more kids on the ground, four on the trampoline (that was the limit in our house), and the kids on the ground tried to peg the jumpers. That was the best!!! Now would that be possible with a net? Nope. And all the flips, and double bounces, and tricks...and OF COURSE jumping with the sprinkler on during the summer (or spring...or fall...this WAS South Texas, after all). Again, I'm just amazed at the lack of serious injury. (Though, really, if we get right down to it, I am amazed that Zachariah survived HIS childhood overall. And even more amazed that his cuz Ben did.)
And do kids walk to school anymore?? We walked, or rode bikes, and it wasn't just down the street. But everyone did! Okay, I don't really know about schoolkids nowadays, maybe they do, but somehow it doesn't seem like it as much...
And cartoons!! What's up with them?? Kids nowadays need some good old Gummi Bears, or David the Gnome, or Duck Tales, or the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But that is a whole other subject for another time.
And do I sound like an old grandma yet?? That was totally the purpose of this post. Yeah...
17 comments:
You know, this is a conversation that my mom and I have frequently...and I agree with you completely! My mom said that after Molly was born they drove four hours with her in a little bassinet on the seat...no seat belt, no car seat, just some snugly blankets tucked around her...AND I am sure our cribs were dripping in lead based paint. :)
By the way...what is David the Gnome?
No for real, how are any of alive today, or at least not paralyzed from the neck down from some horrible trampoline incident?? And i was TOTALLY thinking of Crack the Egg before you wrote that. I remember being the egg one time, getting bounced so hard and high, that i landed with my legs thru the springs along the edge of the tramp, hanging upside down. A grown-up had to come get me.
Still alive though!!
and I just saw these on Designmom, in case you'd ever be interested? Not that normal bike helmets aren't hot, but, you know. :) http://www.yakkay.com/cover_sunhat.html
Hahaha! That's exactly the way I feel about bike helmets! So much fun! I LOOOOVE all the "pumpkin" pictures! They are sooo super cute! Bran has the most expressive faces too :0)
I have often wondered how Mike survived... He was known to jump off his roof and into their swimming pool. He also cracked his head in the same spot, I think 3 times, doing things like jumping off tire swings backwards. Oh, and there was the stacking of chairs to get into a second story window... As for me, my mom was pretty protective. I was a sheltered one who didn't get to play soccer and I did wear a helmet (Oh, it was sooooo ugly and HUGE! It was like a big white bubble.)
It is a struggle now letting our kids do all the things that we might have done or did (in Mike's case). We just know too much, I think. There is too much information out there that scares us. But there has to be balance, you know.
The school that I used to teach at, and I know that it is not the only one like this, has a rule of "no running" at recess! The kids are not allowed to play tag on or around the play structure. And when it snows, they are not allowed to touch it! And guess what! No more dodgeball in PE! Those things are just too dangerous. So sad! I think though that the schools are just worried about lawsuits, not necessarily the well-being of the children. So... I don't want my comment being longer than your post, so I must stop rambling right now!
So true. I do often bemoan the fact that my kids don't ride their bikes to school..though I guess it'd be about 2 miles now and we only lived 1/2 mile from school growing up...eh, they could tough it out...if only I weren't so paranoid from everything that's been drilled into me these last several years. ;o)Of course, maybe it's just as well they don't ride bikes to school. I seem to recall there were those times we had to go home before we got to school because *someone* rode through a big mud puddle and got mud everywhere on the way to school because she just HAD to...wonder who that could have been...hmmm...
I, um, still don't wear a bike helmet and don't require my kids to unless they're leaving our block...how's that for poor parenting? We are, however, getting a trampoline *with* a net...so that makes up for the lack of helmets, right? LOL
I know! Recess is just sad now. Yeah, probably more being afraid of lawsuits, but still...
Sylvia, I totally had a trampoline moment like that, too, but just from one leg. See what all the netted-trampoliners will miss out on!?
A, I think I probably wouldn't necessarily always wear a helmet for neighborhood bike rides depending on the neighborhood. Here, though...definitely. And I'm not sure what you mean by those timeS, as in plural. Did it happen more than once? If it even happened, that is...? ;)
Oh, and David the Gnome was a show on Nick JR about...a gnome...named David. We didn't watch it all the time, I just have a great memory of my littlest sis when she was 4 hopping around like the rabbits did and sticking her legs out sideways and then realizing Grandma was watching and being very embarrassed.
And again, I prove that comments CAN go on and on...
Oooh crack the egg! I remember that! (Although my parents REFUSED to get a trampoline and we had to just be semi-permanent residents at the neighbors' house - Adam & Sarah Wilson's (Zach knows them), when they were in our neighborhood).
My dad rides his bike daily - refused to wear his helmet for the longest time. My mom threw a huge fit and he gave in. He's had three major bike accidents since then - and gone through four helmets. Fortunately, going through four helmets means he's still on his first head. :)
LOL.... Yea Zac had some special moments on his bike if I remember right he pushed his bike home one day after flipping himself over the handle bars because he thought he had broken something again. Hmm good thing I wasnt I daredevil and didnt have those kinds of experiences altough I was on the sled with Z the first time he fractured his foot.. and we cant forget the time our Trampoline broke when Z got on with too many of his friends. Well at least we have great stories to tell as we get to old to do that stuff anymore.
Well...we didn't own a trampoline...but we did have PLENTY of trees to climb! I'm talking seriously TALL trees. I taught my kids *gasp* to climb high and ride them in a windstorm. So much fun! You could get the trees swaying with each gust! yeah...Ben fell out of a tree once and went to the hospital. On his way I told him I hoped they weren't going to cut off his...you know...I know I'm mean...LOL...but he never fell again! aahhhhhhhhhh childhood....
LOL when we got r trampoline for xmas me and sari were jumping on it and i totally bounced her right offf i think she broke her arm ?? she will have to confirm that but man were they great ....
ohhh and one time zac was making bombs in the backyard out of 2litre bottles and throwing them at the trampoline what fun (i dont remeber if anyone was on it at the time?????
Hey I like your birthday suit...:)
Didn't you have great parents! There should at least be a picture of you wearing your helment!
My o my, all the tender mercies you kids received.
I second the notion that childhood should be free again. However I would much rather wear a bike helmet then a car seat belt. If that huge metal fire ball crashes, I want to be free of it. Plus, every accident I have been in (never in one as a driver, knock knock) it has been very beneficial to not have been in a seat belt. And no, I do not need an accident to help me appreciate them, I have plenty of examples around me. I guess I feel better with the helmet, because if something happens I would be able to walk away with my head in tact. And Gavyn, Ronda's boy likes to (at least he used to) point out and when people need to put helmets on.
I think the point of this post really is that we (our generation) has used up all the fun. Our kids won't know about getting really hurt doing stupid things, because we will protect them; they wont get lost, because we will always know where they are or they will have a cell phone (or even something better..); they wont drive too fast or have a cool car, because no one can afford to make them (or drive them) anymore; and I am sure there are more examples, I just can't think of them now.
But the basic idea is what I start with...We used up all the fun...
Hahaha. Don't worry, kids always find something crazy to do. The nets are nice, but I actually think the net can be MORE dangerous once they get a little older... well, at least I can imagine the sort of things Ben, Jeff and I would have done with the net on... At any rate--as I am sure Zac can attest to--the REAL dangerous stuff happens without the parents ever knowing.... Something to look forward to! haha.
--Greg
that was a wonderful reminiscing monologue Fiona! You didn't have any major injuries b/c we had SOME rules, and...we prayed a lot :)
I do remember you knocking yourself out on our front porch, when you slid along after pouring something like a bottle of bubbles on it... we had Erin's friend's dad (who was a doctor) look at you, and he said to just keep checking your eyes for dilation..... you were ok (we think :) )
I knocked myself out twice on a trampoline when I was a kid. And Wade still reminisces about lawn darts. I do think we go a little overboard at times when it comes to insulating this generation of little ones- but not when it comes to helmets... my cousin had a simple bicycling accident as a kid- she didn't know her own mom for a month and her personality changed permanently. I should be a better example about wearing mine- they just don't mesh with pony tails... it's a tough balance keeping them safe but letting them challenge themselves and experience.
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