Ten Childhood Activities That Could Cause Harm

I was listening to Dennis Prager the other day and he was talking about how we insulate our children these days from anything and everything that may cause harm. From the real to the alarmist. And he started jokingly naming some things that he did as a child for which he should be dead (according to todays "standards", so I decided that would be a good post as well.

You'll notice that most, if not all, are things that we considered fun as a child.- Things that are now "outlawed".

I don't know if I can come up with 10, but I'll try.

1) Rode my bicycle without a helmet.

2) Rode a skateboard without a helmet or pads (I was not good at all).

3) Walked/ rode bike to the local store without adult.

4) Rode on a large seesaw (teeter totter) with an older cousin.

5) Rode on metal springy "horse" (at the park- could have been elephant, snail or other animal).

6) Went to the top of metal spaceship (that swayed in the wind).

7) Rode on spinning "carosel"- the kind you had to run real fast to get it going and tried to jump on without being thrown off.

8) Rode Big Wheel down a large hill in our backyard.

9) Had a BB Gun.

10) Played in a tree house with an old Chemistry set (Two for one on that one).

So, I did come up with 10-yeah woo. I'm sure there were many other things that could have been bad. I can agree with Dennis that sometimes by "eliminating" risk, we are sometimes being a detriment to our children. There are some things on the list that I would not have a problem allowing Alyssa to do and others that I will have a problem. And the same goes for things I did not list.

It is tricky to bring balance to being overparenting versus underparenting. I have been reading "What A Difference A Daddy Makes" and I want to make good decisions with regard to my child, especially with my daughter.

I will not be helping her out if I make the mistake of rushing in for every little thing and making her decisions for her (thinking of the future, of course) or by being overprotective. I will also not be helping her out if I simply allow her to decide whatever she wants to without giving her godly guidance.

My daughter does not need me to be her friend. She needs me to be her Daddy. I take that responsibility seriously. Too many parents think they being helpful by being pals, friends, buddies with their kids.

With that note, I hope you had a nice Christmas.

Derrick