5 dangerous things all kids should do!!

[fowldarr]

Alright, I get to share too.

I grew up with 3 brothers, my wife grew up with sisters, we have 3 boys. One day, my two oldest are out back beating the crap out of each other with the most sword-like sticks they can find. My wife calls me in the Kitchen, insisting that somebody is going to lose an eye, and that I do something about it immediately. I point out that kids are supposed to do that kind of stuff when adults are not looking. My wife makes the valid observation that, at that present time, we are indeed watching. So,...I closed the blinds and walked off.

I'm very lenient with my kids, tehy are 9,7, and 4, the two older ones have knives (supervised use only), the older one has a BB gun (and a 30-30 he has not shot yet), they can both build a decent fire, they can use basic power tools, including a jig saw (again, supervised use only), the older one has changed tires, and oil. They know what it is like to have scraped knuckles and dirt in their eyes. I wouldn't have it any other way. Though the spear throwing intrigues me...we have not done that, and they were making home made spear tips out of rock just the other day...maybe teach them how to make an atlatl. Time to do some research.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Good point. But in those days (nearly forty years ago) my parents knew little about stoddard solvent's effects on the body, so I won't be blaming them. Heck, the gov't had just outlawed carbon tetrachloride in fire extinguishers.

No doubt. My Mom talks about playing with Mercury balls in their bare hands in Chemistry class, and my Dad played with lead figurines. Meanwhile, today, kid's motorcycles are banned because they have some components made from steel with 0.14% lead content (12L14).

There's a middle ground somewhere....

 

[kjp1969]

Finally got her out there- 10 years old:

 

[Zelix]

My 8 year old daughter has a welding helmet. She watched and helped me with the trailer I built. I haven't let her weld anything yet. She is really interested in how things work.

This last weekend she helped me change the oil in the jeep. She didn't actually do anything except climb under and asked questions. It was a great time we spent. I'll get her a BB gun soon [maybe this weekend]. She doesn't care about knives so much but loves to play in the dirt, fish, and now camp.
:victory:

 

[bftank]

all this talk about pipe bombs and blowing things up and nobody has mentioned potato guns or water bottle rockets?

didn't get to mess with these until i was older and on my own. if and when we have kids it will be on the roster. already ruined the neices and nephews!

 

[southpier]

not sure where Scouting is today, but most of this stuff was covered in the handbook back in the late 50's.

what wasn't there was in the Gilbert Chemistry Set we got for Christmas.

anyone who wants a good laugh can ask a 20 year old to tie one of the basic six knots. i've got even money they will come up short

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Just the other day, I had bought some new waterproof matches, and was testing them out. My son was interested and asked me what I was doing so I told him. Then I told him he is never to touch matches by himself. If he ever wants to play with matches, it's ok, but he must come ask me and I will help him. This is the way I intend to proceed with most things. Don't just say "never do this", but "come get me, and I will help you".

It'll be the same deal with alcohol. If he's 14 and shows an interest, he can try a little bit with me so he can see. I intend to remove the mystery and bad-assed-ness about these things, so that when he's on his own and is exposed to it, it's old-hat, and not some rebellious thing. I think current drinking age laws are rediculous, especially places where it's 21. I can't understand how a person is considered legally competent enough to operate a car, or own a firearm, but not have a drink?

 

[drgnhrt1979]

took my girls over the weekend and let them drive the Jeep... my 6 yr old sat on my lap and my 9 yr old was big enough to sit in the driver seat without me and work the pedals, they had a blast...

the wife said not to do it again, so in time i will do it again anyway...

 

[bugnout]

Great Post!!!

One more piece of advice: let your kids get dirty, real dirty, play in the dirt and the sand until they are covered head to toe, dirt in thier ears, up thier noses. I'm talking mud wrestling dirty.

Then hose them off in the back yard. Nothing builds immunities better than playing in the dirt.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

Letting my kids drive on my lap... I'm not sure about that. I think it used to be safe but with airbags, I dunno. If anything were to happen and the bags went off, it's like holding a gun to your child's head. Serious. With them that close to the wheel, BANG, they're dead.

 

[drgnhrt1979]

Letting my kids drive on my lap... I'm not sure about that. I think it used to be safe but with airbags, I dunno. If anything were to happen and the bags went off, it's like holding a gun to your child's head. Serious. With them that close to the wheel, BANG, they're dead.

i am sure that it could happen, but i was in a parking lot with nothing around to hit or run into other than some mud puddles which the girls loved driving through not like we were on a back road or anywhere with trafic. cant wait till i can get them driving off-road and teach them to be good spotters...

 

[Alchemyguy]

Letting my kids drive on my lap... I'm not sure about that. I think it used to be safe but with airbags, I dunno. If anything were to happen and the bags went off, it's like holding a gun to your child's head. Serious. With them that close to the wheel, BANG, they're dead.

Why would you, as a responsible parent, create a scenario where that could happen? This entire thread has been about doing "dangerous" things under controlled conditions and this isn't really any different. Deserted parking lots. Country roads. Keep it below 15kph. You've got the gas and brake pedals, where would this go wrong? It's up to the parent to make it safe.

 

[ginericLC]

My 7 year old has been driving our Land Cruisers on our property for some time. I won't let them in the front at all even if I'm backing up to hook up the trailer or something in our Cruiser that has air bags. The whole air bag thing has caused a big problem in our family. It has caused us to build a whole second Cruiser without air bags.

The problem with air bags and kids is not suffocation like some people think. It has to do with where the force is concentrated and the snapping effect it has on their head and neck. A lot of head and neck injuries of course cause serious injury or even death. That is the problem.

As far as when an airbag could go off. I'm of the opinion that it could go off at any time. After all it is mechanical and it was human designed so there is a chance of an error. When will the error occur or if ever, who knows?

 

[kjp1969]

I won't let them in the front at all even if I'm backing up to hook up the trailer or something in our Cruiser that has air bags. The whole air bag thing has caused a big problem in our family. It has caused us to build a whole second Cruiser without air bags.

Baseless fear the exact OPPOSITE of what this thread is about.

If anything were to happen and the bags went off, it's like holding a gun to your child's head.

Uh, no, letting your kid sit on your lap is absolutely nothing at all like holding a gun to their head. It's not even close. Its like black and white, wet and dry, up and down. How in the world could you make that comparison?

In come the facts:

Frontal airbags: NHTSA estimates that since 1990, more than 290 deaths have been attributable to frontal airbag inflation in low-speed crashes. Nearly 90 percent of deaths occurred in vehicles manufactured before 1998 and approximately 68 percent were passengers. More than 90 percent of the passenger fatalities were children and infants, most of whom were unbelted or in rear-facing child safety seats that placed their heads close to the deploying airbag.3 More than 80 percent of people killed were unbelted or improperly restrained. Unbelted occupants are likely to move forward if there is hard braking or other violent maneuvers before a frontal crash. These occupants can end up on top of, or extremely close to, the airbags as they begin to inflate. Short and elderly drivers can be vulnerable to inflation injuries from frontal airbags because they tend to sit close to the steering wheel.

Translation: of the 261 chidren and infantswho have been killed by airbags in the last 20 years, most were unbelted. So over the last 20 years, 13 unbelted infants and children per year are killed by airbags. IN A COUNTRY OF 330 MILLION PEOPLE.

However. . .
More than 350 children die per year by drowning in swimming pools.
More than 115 children die per year by drowning in bathtubs, buckets and other containers.
Lightning kills 58 people per year.
Dogs kill 30 people per year.

Airbags? Almost statistically insignificant, even if you drive around with your unbelted infant in the front seat. And we're talking about (in my case) a 5, 8 or 10 year old sitting on my lap for a couple of trips up and down the cul-de-sac, not zooming down the freeway at 70mph.

 

[RiverCityDave]

Baseless fear the exact OPPOSITE of what this thread is about.



Uh, no, letting your kid sit on your lap is absolutely nothing at all like holding a gun to their head. It's not even close. Its like black and white, wet and dry, up and down. How in the world could you make that comparison?

In come the facts:



Translation: of the 261 chidren and infantswho have been killed by airbags in the last 20 years, most were unbelted. So over the last 20 years, 13 unbelted infants and children per year are killed by airbags. IN A COUNTRY OF 330 MILLION PEOPLE.

However. . .
More than 350 children die per year by drowning in swimming pools.
More than 115 children die per year by drowning in bathtubs, buckets and other containers.
Lightning kills 58 people per year.
Dogs kill 30 people per year.

Airbags? Almost statistically insignificant, even if you drive around with your unbelted infant in the front seat. And we're talking about (in my case) a 5, 8 or 10 year old sitting on my lap for a couple of trips up and down the cul-de-sac, not zooming down the freeway at 70mph.

I love a little statistical reality thrown in the face of FUD.