It may be cold out, but it’s never too early to start thinking about mayhem, injuries, accidents and some of the other great things about being a kid in the summer.
Dubuque, Iowa, recently banned sledding in most of its public parks, citing risk of liability. That action continues a decades-long slide of paranoia about injury, lawsuits and other maladies that might affect our children.
Why have so many people taken leave of their senses?
I’m Generation X. We’re the generation that spent our young lives outside. Riding our bikes. Exploring the woods. Climbing on jungle gyms made of actual metal and anchored onto asphalt.
We got lost. We broke bones and picked up big bruises. And we used our imagination when we were bored. That’s the way it was, and we liked it.
Now, my generation goes to great lengths to make sure our own children are coddled and protected from anything that could cause them peril. The endless drone of the 24/7 cable TV news monster has convinced us that harm is around every corner.
We need to push back against that fear. We need to let kids roam. To break bones. To fall down and get back up. And to get lost and find their way back.
Those are the kids who will grow up exploring, inventing things, and using their minds to make the world a better place.
Like Dory said in “Finding Nemo” -- “You can’t never let anything happen to them. Otherwise, nothing will EVER happen to them.”
I’m Wester Wuori and that’s my Perspective
