The article that got me thinking [linky].
So OTTers, and non OTTers, what do you guys think on this matter? Should we coddle our kids or let them learn first hand?
-discuss-
Each child is different, and so is each parent.
And even the things mentioned in the article weren't really "dangerous", in the fact that they are expected to be done under adult supervision and guidance (ie: driving around a parking lot, playing with the microwave, building things etc). It's not nearly as sensational as it presents itself. "Do cool stuff with you kids" should be more like it.
There will always be people who coddle their children too much, and there will always be people who are dangerously neglectful. Most parents fall in the middle.
I don't spend too much time looking to someone else on how to raise my child; I tend to let him direct his play. I do try to protect him from things (he is only 2 1/2, after all), but I also give him a long leash (figuratively, not literally).
Funny story: my house no longer has outlet covers. Here I was, being a "good" parent and putting them in the outlets. And here comes my son, barely a year, pulling the covers off and putting them in his mouth. I had to make a choice between a very easy choking hazard or a more difficult electrocution hazard ...
*shrug* It just seems to be sensationalizing to sell the book, but I understand the idea behind it - be involved with the cool things your child does.
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...I swear. Although my PS2 keeps electrocuting me!
As for me, I figure kids should be kids and that the world isnt' nearly as dangerous as people seem to think. There's reasonable fears and precautions, and unreasonable ones. Things like razorblades in halloween candy is an unreasonable fear (no cases of it ever happening).
Sadly, by the time I have a kid, I'm not sure Halloween will be much of a kids' holiday...
Article I heard about his camp a while ago
When I have children, I'll definately do those kind of things with them.
But I think the world is going in the opposite direction (not just for kids). Everything is required to be "safer" so people are getting more and more careless which makes normally safe things dangerous, requiring things to be even safer, making people even more careless...
And I shouldn't say the world, but definately it seems like it from where I live.
I agree with KillerGM, every kid is different. However, I am a fan of supervised danger. My daughter got a knife/multitool for her eight year old birthday. She also plays with fire. She has fire airsoft guns and once she's a little older she'll fire a real one. I also plan to let her try driving in an empty lot once she's a little older. All of this is done under supervision and so far it has worked like a champ. She respects fire, knives, etc. Hearing is only one way we take in information. If you can tell kids about something, show it to them, and let them get some hands-on experience, then you've covered all three bases.
Yeah. At three, my daughter can chop garlic with a big sharp knife. I'm watching her the whole time, but she's awesome at keeping her fingers out of the way.
My wife and I discussed this; it's like how we figure plastic bags make great toys for babies. They love 'em. Never leave the baby alone and playing with a plastic bag, but if you're right there... is no big deal.
Even the shows we let her watch with us... already she largely seems to understand the concept of death, thanks to watching Bones. That her great-great-aunt died is something she can understand. She still wants Bones to take a look at said relative's hip to find out what killed her (long story), but she knows what happened. She knows that a person dies, rots, and never comes back. To understand this so early is pretty good, as far as I'm concerned (she also understands the predator/prey relationship well, which is good because I intend to take up hunting with my father-in-law when I return to Canada).