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Re: [RC] Kids not tough-slightly OT - Chelsea MarshI'm a teenager (or so they tell me!) and it's my personal opinion that a kid is as responsible as you expect them to be. I knew (know!) what is expected of me, and I also know that my parents aren't going to let me off with a "kids will be kids!" To keep it horse related, I know that if I were to ride the heck out of my horse and then put them up afterwards lathered in sweat and with saddle sores that I'm not going to get that excuse! However I know other kids my age where something like this happened there (not a lot, but some)and there parents just excused there behavior as that of "just being a kid" and that "kids don't know any better! Okay, maybe I'm not particularly bright, but being I'm not THAT dumb! If we're told not to do something, we CAN figure out that it is a bad thing and that there will be consequences! Well, there's my little rampant for the day! Chelsea On Fri, 1 Dec 2006 18:11:37 -0800 (PST), "Dana B." <ddbpaso@xxxxxxxxx> said: Sheila_Larsen@xxxxxxx wrote: Although I don't have children I just finished an excellent book called Last Child in the Woods. It discusses the downfall of kids being so protected and frequently not being allowed to go out and be kids like many of us did. OOOOOOHHH, this is such a pet peeve of mine!!!!!! I do have children, and they get to experience life let me tell you. It makes me crazy when people run after their kids telling them don't do this or don't touch that because they might get dirty or get a scratch or mess up their room or.....[enter some other thing that inconveniences the parent]. When my kids went to do something that had some hazard to it, my line of thinking was "Can it kill them? How likely is it to kill them?" If they had a reasonable chance of surviving, then go for! If they could get seriously hurt, we generally discussed the means by which to reduce the risk. And if there was still considerable risk, we evaluated how inconvenient a trip to the ER would be that day ;-p People gasp when they find out that my kids have handled knives and guns and machinery and other hazards for years, always with appropriate supervision of course. Now that they are both teenagers they not only can handle these with ease, they also understand risk assessment and personal responsibility (they are accountable for all of their actions, there is no "boys will be boys" here). Honestly, the hardest thing for me to watch with them was when my youngest decided to steal my husband's horse and turn him into a CT/endurance horse. This was no push button horse, but a hot and opinionated Paso Fino. I prepared them both as best I could, but there were times when I watched from afar as he dealt with issues and I was more scared than I have ever been in my life. But I didn't let my insecurity stunt his personal development. He no longer rides but those years he rode made a HUGE difference to his growth of maturity and self-confidence and self-esteem. He now is an awesome crew and regular ride volunteer :-) It's pretty common knowledge that when you come to our house you not only are allowed to get dirty, you are probably going to be encouraged to get dirty. And track it into the house if you want. And the dirtier the better, because that usually means you've been doing something really fun outside, usually with animals or tools, and in my book that trumps sitting inside with the TV/computer babysitter anyday. 'k, off my soapbox ;-p Dana Baldwin, who's motto was "No Whining!" long before I heard of MaryBen :-))) ddbpaso@xxxxxxxxx ************************************ --------------------------------- Any questions? Get answers on any topic at Yahoo! Answers. Try it now. -- Chelsea Marsh chelsea_marsh@xxxxxxxxxxx =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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