Have we worried too much about the safety of children?

I sometimes think that many parents, especially mothers, would inadvertently like to “wrap their children in cotton,” while most parents tend to prefer a bit of rudeness.

I am not for a moment minimizing the dangers that exist, I am sure they are very real. I mean a very different kind of danger.

But has this protection gone too far? I feel that in many ways there is too much focus on children’s safety and not enough on letting them be children and act naturally, doing what children have always done and survived.

Here is a rather funny tongue-in-cheek article written by a writer who quotes a newspaper article about child safety.

“In our national newspaper, I recently read that a public school had effectively banned cartwheels, handstands, and somersaults.

Students at the school may still perform these life-threatening reckless stunt acts, but they must do so only in the immediate presence of a trained gym teacher.

Here is a rather amusing tongue-in-cheek article by the same writer:

AS I sat carefully at my desk, avoiding paper cuts and saturated fat, I read the news that Drummoyne Public School had banned cartwheels, handstands, and somersaults.

Students at the school may still perform these life-threatening reckless stunt acts, but they must do so only in the immediate presence of a trained gym teacher.

Or a practicing chiropractic specialist. Or someone who has recently worked as a circus clown or stuntman. I don’t remember, I wasn’t concentrating.

A quick Google search told me that other things that have been “banned or suggested to be banned in NSW public schools include energy drinks, mayonnaise, kiwifruit, hugs and the word Easter”.

Some unwise people might think that these bans or quasi-bans are like wrapping children in cotton wool and not letting them be just children, but I disagree.

Public schools are scary places filled with dangers like food, drink, and open spaces. We must protect future generations from things like scraped knees, questionable self-esteem, fun, and anything else that can help make dangerously complete adults.

In order to ensure that our tiny loved ones are safe when they venture out into the big, government-sanctioned world to learn books, I suggest we ban hard crusts as well.

To minimize bleeding gums, which can lead to dangerous infection and death, sandwiches with a crust firmer than a piece of wet paper will be banned.

In fact, let’s remove the scabs entirely to be safe. The upside here is a reduction in curly-haired kids, which can make a playground look messy.

Laughter itself is not particularly dangerous. However, sharp inhalation immediately after a typical laugh poses a choking hazard, especially if hard crusts or insects are within inhalation range.

It is recognized that laughter is a natural and automatic response in some situations and cannot be avoided. Therefore, students are advised to avoid any situation that could be considered “fun”. Anyone who tries to be funny will be suspended immediately.

It is a scientific fact that people who walk have a much higher risk of tripping, bumping into walls and going to stores to buy cigarettes than people who do not walk.

Walking may be permitted in the immediate presence of an appropriately qualified physician or cautious athlete, when absolutely necessary.

There is a saying that “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing”; it follows, then, that a lot of knowledge would be even more dangerous, and therefore it would be safer to have no knowledge at all.

Not a single war has ever been fought without knowledge (although some boxing matches have) and no one has ever been shot without at least knowing where to get their hands on a gun.

It is known that one hundred percent of people who suffocate were breathing immediately before. There is no denying the correlation between breathing and suffocation: PROHIBITED.”

I found the article hilarious and although the writer makes it all a bit wacky, I think she’s not too far wrong. Children are much more resilient and intelligent than we think, including babies.

I decided when I had children that I would not put plastic protectors on the corners of the tables. There are no security locks on the cabinets. And also teach them how to eat and drink from non-plastic plates and cups.

My fear for them was plastic. As for those crib bumper pads, they were finally reported to be the most dangerous so-called safety item for babies.

Babies and very young children use their eyes and legs and have enough intelligence to get around all these obstacles they encounter as they crawl and crawl happily through their homes.

We must not spoil them, but watch while allowing them the pure enjoyment of exploring their home environment.

Despite not having all of these safety measures in place for my babies, they happily explored the rooms of our house without injury. None of them opened cabinets and drank poisonous kitchen products.

And they also slept perfectly well without security guards around their cots. The world is scary enough as they will learn as they grow. We must not make them afraid of the corners of the table and so on.