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Back-in-my-day moments are best avoided. They hasten the creep of old fogeyism and are often clouded by rose-coloured nostalgia. And they usually elicit an eyeroll and a lightning fast change of subject.
Yet sometimes they can't be helped. Like the other day, when a TV news story offered the stunning revelation that allowing children to take a few risks when they play makes them more resilient and better equipped to face life as adults.
Just like that, I was transported back to the ditch in 1970, my bicycle on top of me, left knee throbbing and friends urging me to get up and have another go.
I did. Mastered the jump and forgot about the graze on my knee.
Yes, back in my day play was all about taking risks. Making mistakes and learning from them. Trying the same thing over and over until you got it right.
There were no parents supervising the risk-taking. They'd kicked us out of our houses early in the day. Told us to be back when the streetlights came on then tut-tutted at the state of our clothes and the bruises and scratches we returned with.
It wasn't Sparta. We weren't left on a hillside overnight to weed out the weak. But we were left to our own devices - and I don't mean gadgets with screens, which are much riskier for a child's wellbeing than falling off a log.
When the rain kept us in, we turned to our imagination for relief from boredom. We didn't need Thunderbirds to actually be on the black and white Baird in the corner. We recreated the adventures in our minds, helped by whatever was at hand. A yellow Bic Biro sufficed as the Thunderbird 4 submersible. A red one doubled as Thunderbird 3. One of those multicoloured pens became Thunderbird 2, with four rescue pods.
But enough of the back-in-my-day stuff.
The report about risky play made me both sad and glad. Sad because something so obvious had to be said, that someone thought parents needed to be reminded that they should let their kids be kids. And glad because there were adventure play options for children that weren't completely fenced off and rubberised for safety. Glad, too, for the joy on the faces of the children taking part.
Thankfully, there's a growing appreciation of the benefits of risky play for children. Early education experts say it builds confidence and physical agility. Kids learn to be cooperative and encouraging. They explore their environment and test their limits. They become emotionally resilient and better equipped to handle setbacks. And, most importantly, they get to understand that actions have consequences - occasionally bad but mostly positive.
While the inner fogey might be tempted to scoff about "kids these days", it's the parents who need re-education about risk.
"Adults' and caregivers' own fears can often get in the way of children's ability to engage in risky play. However, the likelihood of injury is incredibly low," says an article about risky play on the Boston University website. It suggests parents concerned their child might hurt themselves should wait 17 seconds before telling them to be careful.
"Often with a little bit of space, children are able to figure out how to safely engage in risky play without adult intervention, and might surprise you with what they are able to do independently."
Not only that. The kids might surprise themselves. Just as I did all those years ago when I got out of that ditch, dusted myself off and finally made the jump on that bicycle.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Are we too protective of children these days? Should there be more room for risky play? Were you tightly supervised when you were growing up? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Business confidence was knocked back into a negative reading last month, with retail and other consumer-facing sectors hit hard by households tightening their belts. A deterioration in the already sour mood in the private sector, as captured in National Australia Bank's survey, follows warnings from financial regulators that mortgage-holders are falling behind on their monthly payments, albeit from low levels.
- Hundreds of Bonza workers have officially been sacked from the budget airline as administrators fail to find a buyer for the grounded carrier which has debts of more than $110 million. Administrator Hall Chadwick told more than 300 staff in a meeting on June 11 that their employment would be terminated.
- Singapore Airlines has apologised and offered compensation to the passengers onboard "traumatic" flight SQ321 on May 20 which included 56 Australians. In a post to social media the airline said offers of up to $38,000 had been sent via email to the passengers of the flight where one man was killed and 30 others were seriously injured after the plane encountered severe turbulence.
THEY SAID IT: "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - TS Eliot
YOU SAID IT: Pete Dutton's plan to ditch Australia's 2030 emissions reduction targets has reignited the climate wars. It feels like Groundhog Day.
Lee writes: "Pontiac Pete saying if you can't meet a target why have it, should be heard by all sports players and fans. There are teams we know are not getting to the grand final but their fans still hold out hope as do the players and their teams. Yes, the climate wars are still happening which I hope means more crossbenchers at the next election. I would like to see Pete try and sell a nuclear power plant to be built in his electorate. If not the plant, how about a nuclear waste dump? I am sure that will tell him exactly what people think."
"We all know nuclear is just a diversion to keep coal and gas going, a boon-doggie, just like Barnaby's inland rail route, which still has no port in Queensland," writes Bill. "Nuclear is attaching itself to the bush rump protesting about 'power lines through my farm', but it won't gain the Nats any more seats, and will push more Liberal seats to the Teals in the cities."
Phil writes: "As usual politicians and the media only look at half the story. Even if, by some strange magic, we stopped emitting CO2 now, we still have to deal with current concentration in the air. This will still blanket us for centuries until geologic processes turn the CO2 back into limestone. We are doing nothing to reduce CO2, only reduce emissions. We need to do both."
"Yes, I have seen the effects of climate change where I live," writes Murray. "In the middle of Victoria we see huge grain trains go past, laden with thousands of tonnes of wheat, harvested from yet another bumper crop. The warmists keep trotting out the line that it is getting hotter and dryer and we will all die. In fact in this corner of the planet the weather is getting milder and wetter. and the farmers are driving past on big new green tractors bought with the profits from years of near-record harvests. The climate enthusiasts will immediately shout that weather does not correlate to climate. Really? If the weather is not a measure of the climate, what is?"
Arthur writes: "Those opposing nuclear energy on the fact it will take 20 years to come online in Australia if we started today ignore the fact that in 20 years the wind turbines being erected today will reach their use-by date at the time the nuclear plants are ready. Peter Dutton has taken a great political risk by drawing attention to an uncomfortable truth. We have to do better than net zero. That means we have to achieve zero use of fossil fuels. Australia and most other countries are not likely to achieve that."
"Yes, Peter Dutton has taken a risk in dumping this policy," writes Alan. "But I doubt if people will take a risk on Peter. This climate policy puts the LNP out of touch with Australians and the world. Our world needs action now, not in 2050."
Sue writes: "I think Peter Dutton appeals to a stubborn group of voters who say 'Not in my backyard! Not in my time at all!' They want everything to stay the same but fail to realise it's out of their control. I fear for our future while Peter Dutton gets so much air time."
"My brother and sister-in law live in the Illawarra - fortunately well above the highest flood levels recorded, but currently marooned by surrounding low lying land," writes Graham. "No matter what Peter Dutton decrees, he can't escape the facts; there is no time left to buy off taking appropriate action. Procrastination is the thief of time and we're all too short of it."