Bubble-wrap Parenting

I’ve had the kids out on the cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment, buried in the sand at the beach, climbing trees and waterfalls, wading for tadpoles, hacking through thick northern Ontario brush, dancing through the fountains of a public park and even *gasp*!Sitting in the front seat of my car.  When they ride their bike in front of the house, I don’t make them wear a helmet and I don’t pre-chew their popcorn for them at the movies.

I suppose, according to some useless twits, that makes me a bad parent…

Middle- class mothers have turned the countryside into a no-go zone for their children because they are worried about them getting dirty, according to research.

They are scared that day trips into the great outdoors could end with their children getting lost, hurt or muddy.

[..]

She said middle-class mothers were also obsessed about their children getting injured and dirty.

'I think with this group of people, their fear of danger is exaggerated,' she said. 'They are very scared of children not only being run over, but being stolen even when they were with them.

'There also seems to be an obsession about cleanliness. Perhaps because children are in expensive clothes, mud seems to be abhorrent.' The research adds fuel to claims that today's children are being 'mollycoddled'.

The Royal Society for the Arts study found children were being deprived of the freedom to develop, to manage and take risks  -  all part of growing up.

But my kids are all still alive and healthy, and should they ever get lost in the woods on their own, I'd feel sorry for the bears.

Update:  And right on cue.

Comments

[mikey]

I wish these parents were as diligent about respect and manners as they are about dirt.

[Texas Canuck]

Say, wasn't this just on an episode of House? some guy whose mother kept him in a virtually clean bubble ended up having problems as an adult because his body had never had to adjust and build antibodies to normal dirt stuff. I know it is just a TV show but then again writers get their ideas from somewhere.

This segues nicely into the story about pediatricians wanting to put warning labels on hot dogs due to choking hazards. I'll refrain from any Linda Lovelace or tube steak references.

[mikey]

Why refrain? ;)

[Monnie]

Is it any wonder the USA and Canada are increasingly populated with feminized boys and men?

Let's see:

Little or no PE---the kiddies might get injured or have hurt feelings if they lose a game or are the last to get picked for a team.

Kids who are overprotected actually are at much higher risk of illness when exposed to infectious microbes, because their immune systems are underdeveloped.

If boys "misbehave" in school, as most do from time to time, they're diagnosed with ADHD and given Ritalin or some similar mind-altering drug to make them "compliant". Most of them move on to "adult" psychotrophic drugs later on in life.

With little exercise and the usual unhealthy North American diet, they become overweight or obese, and their messed-up bodies OD on estrogen instead of testosterone.

Take a look at U.S. military statistics, which show higher and higher numbers of young men rejected for service due to obesity and related health problems.

I'll note that most obese young people become libtards as well.