Protection gone over board?

Question

a school here in oz has banned kids from doing cartwheels ,for safety reasons and insurance .how will the kids ever learn to evaluate safety themselves ,to learn and grow and make decisions when they are kept wrapped in cotton wool and put in glass jars ?

Answer 1

Ridiculous isn't it. If they saw some of the things my brothers and I did as kids they would have a pink fit.

Yes there were times we got hurt but that is part of growing up and we sure learnt what NOT to do. We survived OK.

Kids today are far too mollycoddled, they should be able to play in the mud, climb trees and pick up frogs and all the others things we did in the past.

For goodness sake let kids be kids, that's their job. Goodness only knows childhood is over too soon and then adult life and all its responsibilities gets you.

Answer 2

I agree with you. Sit them in front of a computer and let them veg there  

Answer 3

I don't think the kids here even know what a cart wheel is, never mind have the energy to do them, unless they are making an image on a pc screen do it. While they sit at their desk.

Answer 4

I'll be dipped! No cartwheels? I think that is a tad overboard.

Answer 5

school can be really strict and every school have its own reason! as u says is safety reasons! i agree with that some kids are kept wrapped in cotton wool and put in a glass jars, because when there are always injuries and teacher will go in volve especially the school  coz many parent argue about the school safety! so school and teacher only put over protection action as u says! coz the school dont want any prob if u get wat i mean!

Answer 6

Another reason for home schooling.

Answer 7

~The decision has nothing to do with protecting kids.  The school boards are dictated to by the insurance companies who don't care about kids -- just about keeping the school's premium money in their corporate pockets.

Answer 8

I agree! It is stupid but they want to avoid stupid lawsuit.

Answer 9

Yes, it is so dumb.(  I recall our head teacher stopping us kids from making a long slide one winter.  We had found a frozen puddle and by lining up and sliding along it, could make it join another ice patch and become a beautiful long slide. He explained that elderly people could slip on it, so we stopped.  But even elderly people are not going to be harmed by school playground cartwheels!)

Answer 10

I feel sorry and worried for the adults of the future - the ones who will be managing our twilight years. They are so over monitored it has left no room for spontaneity, killed creativity and left them wandering around repeating "I'm a teapot". I like how they are more vocal than I ever was, but I have also seen them run to their parents at the first sign of trouble. Citing an example, a colleague was bragging about her successful daughter and how not only had she bought her first property but had landed a top job with a multinational. I found out later Mum and Dad forked out for the flat deposit and the $1000 business suit for the job. I also found out that when the daughter had locked herself out of the flat at 3.00am, instead of calling a 24 hour locksmith, the supposed, successful "think on your feet" daughter called Mum. Similarly another colleague spent thousands on educating her son at a private school, topping it up with extra tutoring. Both parents were successful professionals, so you can imagine the horror in year 12 when the son announced he didn't want to go to university, but to get a job at McDonalds. What do these parents expect? They have handed the easy life to their kids who now expect it to be that way for their lives. Yes they are wrapped in cotton wool, but the parents sugar coat it as well. But who are they to run to when the parents are gone? Each other? Their own kids? I shudder to think of the state the world be in. Deny them a cartwheel now, and the whole future of the world is in jeopardy.  

Answer 11

i would not worry too much - most kids if they are kids will do there cart wheels off the school grounds and try much other physical things!!!

Answer 12

It's because many parents keep them in cotton wool and glass jars.  Those same parents completely flip out at the slightest scratch or scrape, and a broken bone is grounds for a multi-million dollar lawsuit.  Of course, these over protective parents are the minority, but they're a very strong minority with their fingers on the litigation button, poised to push that button at the slightest perceived damage to their children.  Schools just don't have the time or resources to deal with these frivolous suits, so they take the safe route and prohibit behaviors that could lead to injuries.

Answer 13

I completely agree with Bren.

DeeJay.

Answer 14

The school where I taught got rid of all the swings and slides, and banned running.  It was done for insurance purposes because some parents are so quick to sue.  At recess the kids were limited to hopscotch and jump rope.  No balls were allowed either, because they sometimes went out into the street, and a passing motorist might sue.  On field day, all contests were done without naming any winners.  The kids would do relays, sack races, etc., but they were not competitive at all.  The kids just didn't care because there were no winners.  This was because the losers might "feel bad".  You are right when you said cotton wool and glass jars.