When I was young, I learned very quickly that I was responsible for my own safety. As kids, we learned to travel in packs when playing or walking to and from school. The rule was that you would not be transported by bus unless you were more than a mile from your school. Bus stops were established about every half mile. If it wasn’t near your house, you had to walk to it.

Playgrounds had pieces of equipment that were made out of metal. You had to exercise caution to be sure you didn’t get cut. Common sense would tell you that your friend might jump off of the teeter-totter when you were at the highest point. Therefore, you prepared for the worst possible outcome to avoid injury.

I’m a strong proponent for safety but is it possible that we have created an environment in which we’ve tried to eliminate any and all risk and therefore we have weakened the safety mindset? If someone believes that they will never be hurt, could they be likely to lose sensitivity to what danger really looks like?

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Fixed it for you.

FWIW, as a child of the 80s/early 90s, my parents gave me quite a bit of freedom. I'd often go ride my bike for hours after school, sometimes traveling a few cities away. Sometimes I'd take my adventures too far and have to call home for help. I've been injured on more than one occasion, had more than a few close calls. I'd like to think that gave me a sense of independence, responsibility, and acknowledgement of the consequences of my actions.

But what do I know? *shrug*

I remember one of my grade schools, (would have been mid-60's), had a large asphalt playground in front of the school. I distinctly remember where there had been an old rusty monkey bars that had broken off and there being several rusty stubs of the base sticking out of the asphalt 2 to 6 inches. No barricades, cones, flashers or hazard tape around the pieces just waiting to impale the careless. Playground monitors just yelled at the kids to be careful around the stubs. Bloody knees, elbows and the occasional lumpy forehead were the norm after recess. Natural selection at work.

According to the standards of the modern hardhat and yellow vest types I was dead by the age of 15.

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Release the Kraken

In grade school I saw many kids taken out by a tether ball.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

*flashbacks to dodgeball*

I have 4 kids. they graduated in 1998-2003. They live in the country so "Playing" was a little rougher than many city kids had it!

Make a club and make it safe with a little foam rubber, then beat another kid senseless! See good clean fun!

Have 40 other teenagers over for a party, a paint ball party! yes there is minor bruising, welts, and occasional bleeding!

Have a trampoline in the back yard, only two allowed to bounce at a time for safety! While bouncing, have a punch, kick and slap fight!

Have an 8' diameter bonfire, allow teenagers to cook on and play with a real open fire. Second activity, set up a Beech Volleyball court and put flood lights around so they can see after dark! (only once did 60 of them stay until dawn! usually it was only about 30!)

In the 15 or so years we did these huge partied, not one complaint, not one EMS or fire run, not one "Reminder" from the sheriff! Lots of great memories, and good times. (They way PLAY is suppose to be!)

Ivan

There was no latitudes, no perameters, there was no don’t do this or do that, there was be home at 5 for dinner, there was play at the abandoned gravel pit, there was the Saturday afternoon movies, there was riding your bicycle all over the place which morphed into riding your motorcycle all over the place in the 60s.
My kids grew up in the 70s they lived by the same beliefs, now I’m approaching the end, they are approaching their 50s and we still think the same, kids have to breathe, and a helicopter lifestyle doesn’t work.

We have an entire generation of pansies. I see college kids walking in parks wearing a mask. Live your life in abject fear. Plus, someone may say something you don't like, so freak out. We are in grave danger.

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No baby we aint

What’s up with kids today? We were tough growing up. I won’t go into detail but we weren’t babied.

In the elevator business it’s safety first.

The National timber fallers say is what I’m about to do safe?

I can't imagine a kid learning to ride a bike (or small motorcycle) on a gravel road now days like I did as a kid. And who ever heard of helmets!!

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Super Snooper

Do they still play dodgeball?

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Common sense isn't so common.

or Red Rover?

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Super Snooper

We had a few simple rules...

1. Don’t get in trouble - We had to interpret what “trouble” meant. If our definition was unclear, we would simply use our best judgement as to how to avoid repercussions of any kind.
2. Be home when the streetlights turn on - On a Saturday, this could easily be 12+ hours from when we left the house.....and we were 10 years old.
3. If you don’t want to eat what we are having for dinner then you will go hungry - This was not a debatable point. Other options were not offered, therefore we learned to like all food. If we didn’t like a particular food, we ate it anyway, because it was better than being hungry.

Not me. I was a dodgeball terror. They either missed me alltogether or worse. I would catch the ball.

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Expect the unexpected

Me and my three brothers had so many bicycle accidents we were never allowed anything with a motor. I got 52 stitches from one bike accident.

Me and my son got into dirtbikes. The first thing I did was to get my son all the safety gear. I figured by getting him the safety gear would mean less injury’s. I was 50% correct, how many times I hit my head with a helmet on. I wouldn’t be here with no helmet. Rode streetbikes with my sons buddies. They go to my son your dad does wheelies. They thought I was cool.

One kid died during a wheelie on a side street in a city. We weren’t with him. They don’t realize the headlight is towards the sky. A car can’t see you coming.

I did realize the nut cases on these rockets live it’s the ones who obey the rules that get killed. When your slow your a target.

I gave up riding mainly because of speed on crowded highways.

I am amazed that any of us are still alive . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

The “Crown Jewel” of Dodgeball was when you would get your hands on the smaller red ball. The one that you could grip with one hand. It could be thrown with ferocious velocity. If it struck someone while they were on the back wall, it would likely result in a trip to the nurses office....

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger......

Stronger people are harder to kill......

If FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, and digital cameras were available back in the day, me and all of my fraternity brothers would be unemployable and drawing public assistance today . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

When I think back.....I couldn’t even imagine......

Me and my friends would be right there with you.....

When we talk about that subject, the conversation usually ends with one of us saying.....”I’m just glad I’m still alive”.

One word.....

“Fireworks”

We grew up tough in a dangerous world.

After reading about the missing kid on milk carton, we walked, rode bikes, or took the bus where ever we needed to go. We learned to be on time or we got left behind.

We didn't have seat belts or car seats, we rode in the back of trucks, rode bikes with no helmets, and played in the streets. We would disappear for hours, with no way for anybody to find us. We took care of bullies on the playground or after school.

If we got a bloody cut playing rough, we rubbed dirt on it an carried on or we walked it off. We even drank water out of the hose!!!

My "gofundme" was me doing yard work for the neighbors!

The best thing of all there's no record of all the stupid stuff we said and did. If we got in trouble, our parents were NOT going to side with us!



Oh, and there was the constant threat of nuclear annihilation to go along with occasional testing of the air raid sirens.

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Thread Killer.

Definitely! Fireworks were totally banned in Iowa until recent years but South Dakota was only 75-80 miles away. My much older BIL was a fireworks nut, I was launching tin cans with M80s when I was 4 or 5 years old. And shooting Roman candles at each other. Only thing that ever hurt me was the stupid sparklers.
If I lived in the country I'd still do the "big stuff" I do push the limits on what can be used in town.........

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Super Snooper

How many actually survived unscathed playing with "Jarts"? Cant believe none of us kids didn't wind up brain damaged vegetables or blind from flinging them straight up in the air and then seeing who would stay in the ring the longest. Hint: that was not the purpose of those yellow rings, but what kid ever read the rules.

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That’s exactly what I’m talking about!!

We almost burned down my buddy’s back deck while his parents were out to dinner.... close call but we learned a lot about flammability...

JR's class (2nd grade) play dodgeball and kickball but the balls are purposely under inflated.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

"No helmet" explains a lot about who I am today.🤕

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

I never wore a helmet, and I turned out fine.

I never wore a helmet, and I turned out...wait...

During my elementary through jr high years, beginning about 2 or 3 weeks before school let out for the summer and going until the very day school started in the fall, I never, at any given moment had a complete skin. I stayed covered with scrapes, cuts, punctures, splinters, gashes, bruises, stings and bites.

Never wore anything but a pair of short pants when riding my bicycle, no helmet or padding of any kind. I lived for dodge ball and vacant lot baseball and football, still just a pair of short pants and not protective clothing or padding. Not even any shoes.

We didn't go out of our way to hurt ourselves but we never worried about safety to such a ridiculous extent they do today. It's really sad, they don't know what they are missing because they don't know how to "let it all hang out". I'm an old man now but I still remember the intensity of our play like it was yesterday.

In a way I've always tried to get that intensity in all my leisure sports all my life. Motorcycles (Road and dirt) Guns, Fishing, camping (mostly on the beach) and hunting. What ever it is I'm chasing I'm chasing it hard. I know I don't get it on like I did when I was 12 years old. All you can give it is all you've got. I don't have as much as I used to but I'm still giving it all I got. I think that's what counts.

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Real men love cats!

As kids, our parents would take us up north to visit with family during the summer.
We did roller skates back then and the blacktop road was not the best but ok in spots.
They did have a cement side walk for hop scotch, jacks and our "Fast track" since it went down hill at the end of it.
The only problem, was that at the end there was a 20 foot drop of steep hill with rocks!!
You had to grab the picket fence to stop or the last shot was a hedge that would keep you from a really "Bad day" ................
a little blood and a lot of scraches from that hedge, made me very happy, many a time, as we grew up, when young and crazy.

I will not even go into what happened when we went to the ranches.

My first dirt bike started out as a Yamaha 125cc enduro bike. I extended the swing arm, put a 21" front wheel and knobby tires on it. Jetted up the carb, and milled the head. And got it pretty close to being a sho' nuff Motocross bike. All it lacked was the close ration gear box. I kind of over came that disadvantage by keeping the throttle wide open.

Broke my left leg at the knee shattering my tibial plateau. Bones sticking out and nothing but skin and muscle holing things together.

I sold that bike but got my next one while I was still on crutches. I got this one (a Hodaka 125cc) for hill climbing mostly. It had a 54 tooth rear sprocket and would really scoot up those hills. I didn't compete on the track on it but we used to go out to the track when there were no races and "practice".

Just now I can't remember why I quit riding the dirt. But eventually I went back to road bikes.

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Real men love cats!

Turns out our skulls are tough. A friend of mine got one stuck on the top of his head playing like that. It didnt even draw blood.

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Expect the unexpected

I tried to import the things that I enjoyed and did in my childhood to my kids lives. I only partially succeeded with well remembered Pinewood derbies, camp outs and backpacking. But on the more day to day stuff, life has changed and video games took a big chunk of their down time, and Disney World too soon replaced the local "kiddie Parks". I think there was a "Leave it to Beaver" episode where Ward tried to do the same things. Lesson learned, I cannot give my kids my life, even if they wanted it.

I tried without much success to import some of the things I enjoyed to my kids too. Few things I enjoyed as much or for as many years as fishing. Neither of my two enjoyed it at all. I felt like a failure as a parent. My daughter loved the beach but wouldn't touch a fish with a 10' fishing rod. She hated the water. Wouldn't ride in a boat for love or money. My son like to drive my boat but he once told me he'd rather watch gold on tv that try to catch a fish.

The main problem I think is that there were so many differences in the culture and what was available for kid to do between the generations. I made most of my toys and If it wasn't a hurricane going on and my temperature was under 102 deg F. I was out side. We didn't have any electronic games or computers. My kids were all about eye/hand coordination.

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Real men love cats!