Nation of whiners?

[The Right Honourable Mlle Antéchrist]

Christ, I was born in '86, and I feel old.

[Mrs Scratchitt]

Ah man, we used to go to this camping site/farm when I was a kid and there was a pretty sturdy treehouse in the woods. Didn't think it was dangerous to be in the woods alone but didn't care either. That treehouse was one of the best places on earth!

... I'm an '81 child and don't feel old. Sod old

[TenfoldMaquette]

'82 survivor over here. Got knocked unconscious while playing more times than I can recall. It got to the point where waking up on my back surrounded by aghast lookie-loos became so commonplace I stopped giving a damn, so as long as I could manage to stand up and walk I considered myself to be fine. Then again, my parents were the type of people to hand me a box of band-aids when I got hit by a car and lost most of the skin on one side of my legs, so...y'know, my experience probably isn't typical for most kids. But still, I lived, and I'm (if anything) tough as hell for having done so. In spite of the multiple concussions, copious loss of blood, near-drownings, assault, and murder attempts (no, really, my neighborhood was awesome) I think I turned out okay... >_>

Yes, you should support your kids, and do your damnedest to make sure they actually manage to make it to that stage of life we call "grown up" with the majority of their mental/physical faculties in tact. I just think parents need to realize that they aren't their child's best friend and that they can't be their guardian angel forever, and that that's okay. Just try to raise them to keep the incidents of utter crashing stupidity to a minimum and they'll probably come through okay.

[Auri-El]

That's the thing. Parents' job is not to make their kids have a happy, smooth childhood, it's to make sure the kids are ready for the "real world". That means learning how to fail as much as learning how to succeed.

[SpaceProg]

A wise man once said, "Failure is one of the basic freedoms."

[TenfoldMaquette]

That's the thing. Parents' job is not to make their kids have a happy, smooth childhood, it's to make sure the kids are ready for the "real world". That means learning how to fail as much as learning how to succeed.

I'd say there's a fair bit of difference between having a "happy, smooth childhood" and being coddled.

[TheL]

'93 child. I used to play outside, then books and videogames. After learning to fly, roaming the radioactive wastes, dying and respawning a shitload of times, being introduced to magic in a hundred different universes, killing a god, and being the dragonborn, the playground and wooded areas...well, let's not kid ourselves.

I don't know.  I still prefer the wild places to Hyrule and the deck of the Normandy.

[RavynousHunter]

Makes me feel kinda old, too...and I was born in '89, lol.

[Her3tiK]

'93 child. I used to play outside, then books and videogames. After learning to fly, roaming the radioactive wastes, dying and respawning a shitload of times, being introduced to magic in a hundred different universes, killing a god, and being the dragonborn, the playground and wooded areas...well, let's not kid ourselves.

That's when you and your buddies grab some paintball guns and ratty clothes and make your own adventures

[Witchyjoshy]

That's the thing. Parents' job is not to make their kids have a happy, smooth childhood, it's to make sure the kids are ready for the "real world". That means learning how to fail as much as learning how to succeed.

I'd say there's a fair bit of difference between having a "happy, smooth childhood" and being coddled.

I agree.

It's natural and perfectly okay to want to ensure your child's safety.  Let's face it, if you can break a limb during normal play, there's a safety hazard and it should be addressed.  (Concrete playgrounds are not cool, even if it's just because concrete is a bitch to stand on)

...It is not, however, okay to coddle your children.  Yes, taking a spill should hurt, but it shouldn't be deadly or inclined to break one's arms.  Children should be able to have adventures.

That being said, I was never one of those children that was physically inclined.  My adventures were in my imagination, saving dragons from deadly princesses, or in video games.  Then again, at the time, we moved around so often I never had a chance to keep friends.

[JohnE]

Y'all are a bunch of young'uns. I was born in '80.

[Stormwarden]

^1980 survivors unite! I used to jump off the swingsets onto the concrete pads all the time. I still remember when the slides had concrete and sand, and metal that would scorch you come summer.

Good times. Good, good, times.

[Smurfette Principle]

I'd point out a slightly different mindset here: getting hurt is actually a monetary concern as well as an emotional one. My sister lost her front adult tooth falling off some monkey bars. She hasn't been able to play contact sports since she was eight or so because of it (which is sad, because my sister is a tomboy), and they recently found out that the tooth didn't set. So my sister has had two root canals and some more extensive surgery, and she's going to need more surgery and have her other tooth filed for the rest of her life so that they match, because the broken tooth is dead. So even ignoring all that, shit like that costs thousands and thousands of dollars. Even if you don't give two shits about your kid, from a practical perspective, who wants to spend thousands of dollars on health fees? Health care used to be a lot more affordable, but now, not so much.

[JohnE]

^1980 survivors unite! I used to jump off the swingsets onto the concrete pads all the time. I still remember when the slides had concrete and sand, and metal that would scorch you come summer.

Good times. Good, good, times.

*1980 high five*

I never jumped off swings onto concrete, but I did jump off onto grass and sand. We got some real air off those things.

I remember those metal slides. I busted my lip open on one real bad once.

[The Aphotic Zone]

'93 child. I used to play outside, then books and videogames. After learning to fly, roaming the radioactive wastes, dying and respawning a shitload of times, being introduced to magic in a hundred different universes, killing a god, and being the dragonborn, the playground and wooded areas...well, let's not kid ourselves.

93... makes me feel old. 

Bah, why... back in my day, we played with sticks and rocks and bugs and dog crap!  AND WE WERE GRATEFUL!

But today we have virtual sticks! And I can use them to poke virtual rocks, until my piece of dog crap computer succumbs to one of its many bugs...