Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#21

Post by DanielBMarkham » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 9:49 AM UTC

malkia wrote: post #13

I grew up in Bulgaria. We now live in USA, and have a baby. Well, I'm just wondering where the hell, he's going to play. When I was a kid, we were playing soccer on the street, or in between the blocks, throwing stones at other kids, fighting with plastic/wood swords, driving self-mad woodcars, and everyday I was with a scratch, or I dunno what else. Even earlier when I was 4, me and my cousing, just an year older th…

Live in a more rural area. Buy a place with a big yard.

Cities don't seem very conducive to families. I think once you reach a certain mass of people, the worry-warts take over and take all the fun out of everything. In my experience, for what it's worth, more rural areas usually foster more fun play for the kids. Plus more rural settings encourage kids to use their imaginations to create fun play, which is sadly lacking today.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#22

Post by briancooley » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 12:00 PM UTC

davidw wrote: post #20

dfranke wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is the most depressing comment I've ever read on this site. Where do I even begin? 1. Anybody can sue anybody over damn near anything. This has always been so. It is not a recent development. 2. Getting sued does not mean the apocalypse. Judges have three-figure IQs. They know a frivilous lawsuit when they see one and will award attorney's fees to the defendant. 3. The risk of serious injury is minimal. Little J…

Looks like an 'attractive nuisance' situation to me, if you're not careful about it (such as limiting access), but I'm not a lawyer. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attractive_nuisance

Fence your yard. Get liability insurance as part of your homeowner's insurance. It's relatively cheap and you should have it anyway.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#23

Post by edw519 » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 12:34 PM UTC

Some schools have banned tag. Broward County, Fla., banned running at recess. Little Leagues forbid sliding into base. Some towns ban sledding. High diving boards are history, and it's only a matter of time before all diving boards disappear.

Is this sarcasm or is it real?

That's the scariest part, what surely would have once been a joke is now all too real.

It looks like the inmates have won. They are now running the asylum.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#24

Post by DanielBMarkham » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 12:46 PM UTC

edw519 wrote: post #23

Some schools have banned tag. Broward County, Fla., banned running at recess. Little Leagues forbid sliding into base. Some towns ban sledding. High diving boards are history, and it's only a matter of time before all diving boards disappear. Is this sarcasm or is it real? That's the scariest part, what surely would have once been a joke is now all too real. It looks like the inmates have won. They are now running th…

The Peter Principle at work, my friend.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#25

Post by dhimes » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 12:54 PM UTC

menloparkbum wrote: post #16

The premise of the article is a bit far fetched. Kids aren't fat because our culture is safety obsessed. They are fat because Grand Theft Auto is more fun than little league or hanging from monkey bars. The riskier playground equipment of yesteryear does not stand a chance against thousands of computer games designed specifically to hold kids' attentions for long periods of time.

They are fat because Grand Theft Auto is more fun than little league

especially when the coaches are so obsessed with winning that the best kids always play the most fun and interesting positions, and the not-so-great kids sit on the bench an unfair amount of time

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#26

Post by micah63 » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 1:16 PM UTC

Fun police......one time I was at an amusement park and the laser tag employees would kick you out if you ran.....imagine teenagers walking after each other with laser guns. It was pretty much the most ridiculous thing ever.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#27

Post by mechanical_fish » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 1:21 PM UTC

stcredzero wrote: post #10

bootload wrote: post #7

"... Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids ..." There was another thread on a similar theme that is important ... "... 'Risk-taking increases the resilience of children,' said one. 'It helps them make judgments,' said another. Some of those interviewed blamed the 'cotton wool' culture for the fact that today's children were playing it too safe ..." ~ http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=267048 I'd agree with that. One o…

Having overprotective parents growing up in the burbs sucks. You grow up not feeling real. You grow up with this instinctive sense that you're missing something vital. I didn't know I was allowed by the universe to do anything that was messy, organic, or risky. I grew up with the idea that it wasn't for me: That I'd never dance so that someone would want to dance with me, or play music so someone would listen to me f…

Incidentally, there's not a lot of evidence that the "hormones make teenagers crazy" theory is anything but nonsense. What we do know is that modern teenagers appear to "go crazy" -- for reasons that you seem to understand perfectly well -- and that the polite way to talk about that is to claim that it's "hormones", because the alternative explanation ("many young adults would rather risk death than be isolated and imprisoned in a handful of 'safe' suburban buildings") is way, way too candid.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#28

Post by thomasmallen » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 2:12 PM UTC

No, it's not because of a "safety craze," and the WSJ article never really goes out of its way to prove its point. Kids are fat, unhealthy, etc. because their parents feed them pure shit and are too lazy to move them away from the TV or whatever other sedentary activity they're involved in. In moderation, these things aren't very harmful, but if it's all you know, you're in trouble.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#29

Post by rglovejoy » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 2:14 PM UTC

Penn & Teller just did an episode of Bullshit! on a related subject, parents who are paranoid that their kids might get abducted. See

http://www.sho.com/site/ptbs/previous_episodes.do?episodeid=...

The episode is widely available over bittorrent as well.

Re: Why Safe Kids Are Becoming Fat Kids

#30

Post by drewcrawford » Thu, Aug 14, 2008, 2:34 PM UTC

noonespecial wrote: post #9

Alex3917 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One of my friends was in a full body cast for about four months because when he was in sixth grade someone slid into him while playing baseball and broke one of his legs and his pelvis. My little brother also broke his leg when someone slid into him. Neither has any persisting problems, but a lot of kids do. I have a friend whose legs are different lengths because she stepped in a hole while playing soccer and fractu…

Perhaps a lifelong problem like heart disease, diabetes, or stroke? Seriously. How far do we take it? I knew a kid once who broke his little finger playing "Speed Uno". Is that too dangerous? Maybe the kids should all walk while playing soccer. There is a point somewhere, before the absurdity of tort law forces us all into padded rooms, where it doesn't matter anyway. Our bodies are safe but we've all ceased to live.

How far do "we" take it? Who are "we" to parent other people's kids?

Ultimately it's up to the parents of the individual kids to decide how far _they_ take it with their individual kids. Parents have different parenting philosophies. And that's good--experimentation and variety is what leads to learning and understanding what works.