Nitch.  Nil.  Nothing.   Nobody want to discuss children and safety this summer?

I worry about my grandkids and their trampoline.  Sometimes three or four are on it at once and no one but me seems to mind - but it seems to me that I've heard that trampoline injuries are among the most common and that there should never be more than one person on at a time. 

On the other hand I worry about kids being too closely supervised - they never seem to have the freedom to hop on their bikes and go for a ride, or even to explore their neighbourhood and the nature trail nearby.  An adult has to accompany them.  When are they going to learn responsibility - to use their own judgment, to be aware of their surroundings (including the people in their surroundings), and to be self reliant?

 The idea of 'Where did you go?"  "Out"   "What did you do?"   "Nothing"  disppear to.   Do kids play pick-up ball games anymore?  You know the type - four or five kids get together - one bats, the others pitch and field.  More kids come along and join in.  When they get 10 or 12 they pick teams and play a game.  

Gosh, that was a horrible accident Seeler - it's a challenge to one's sense of invincibility that is so predominant at that age.  Hopefully he will recover well ... another blessing of youth in many cases. 

That helmet thing is always such a challenge.  Drives me crazy when I see families out biking with kids wearing helmets & adults not ... what message is that??  I'm a bit of a fanatic about helmets, working in health care & often having seen the ravages of head injury. 

Sorry Seeler - I did not notice this thread yesterday.

I am always amazed by the amount of well-protected handlebars out there. What a scary time for that boy, his friends and family. Hopefully he will recover - and those who know and love him will remember how important it is to protect yourself.

Working with kids means that I am constantly talking to the kids about playing in a manner that is safe and fun. I am frequently asking children to climb down from that wall or to stop throwing things at other people. Sometimes I feel like a bit of a nag. Still, we can never prevent every accident or injury. This is my fourth summer working at my job - and during every one of those summers somebody has broken a bone. One girl broke her knee sliding down a slide and landing awkwardly at the bottom, another girl broke her elbow when someone else lost their balance on a climbing structure at a playground and knocked her off of it, and a boy broke his arm falling from the monkey bars. No matter how much supervision there is, things will happen.

Seeler, you asked about kids playing their own games. At work we provide free time outside while most of the kids are getting picked up. It is completely unstructured time. The kids are given access to a shed full of equipment and every day, of their own accord, they either get a soccer or hockey game going. It's usually the boys that do this while the girls are coming up with some more imaginative play on the playground.

I coached ski racing for many years, and I've followed an ambulance to the hospital before. It's not something I recommend. We want to foster a love of sport and being active, all the while removing the hazards that are often the most fun bits.

What the kids need, is proper safety equipment, proper instruction, and the tools to recognize and evaluate risks. Most of the worst accidents that I know about could have been prevented through at least one of the above.

Bikes and helmets are a real problem.  We all know that kids take them off a block from home and stuff them in backpacks.  However the kids i see doing bike tricks are usually wearing them.  Possibly because the professional trick riders wear them.

Like ski racers do.

I am glad your friend looks like he will recover.  A very scary thing and of course coming out of the coma is only part of the recovery.

Kids need to explore, take risks and have fun.  They also need to know what are reasonable risks and what aren't.  I imagine all the other kids have now learned the need for helmets when doing tricks.

I can remember being a kid . . . sometimes a very "stupid" kid . . . doing things I shouldn't have done . . . being places I shouldn't have been . . . disobeying rules set-up for my own protection.  To a certain degree that's just what kids do.  Some will be lucky and come out unscathed, and others will have accidents - some very bad accidents.

Parents cannot be with their children (especially older children who just "go") 24 hours a day . . . there needs to be a lot of discussion and talking about the rules and why they are so.  And then, the parents have to let them go . . .

I understand the reasons and logic for bike helmets today, and I understand the reasons why they are law.  But I remember  . . . back in my day . . no helmets -riding free as can be.  Again, although I understand, when I see a bunch of kids out riding their bikes with their helmets, I kinda feel bad they aren't able to experience the freedom we had.  I also can understand why and how if one takes theirs from home and lets it hang over the handlebars, the others are going to do the same.

We mostly road on paths, gravel roads, paved roads, etc. . . . the question arises, why were they riding bikes in a skateboard park (kids do do the darndest things)?

Actually, lots of kids ride in skate parks ... some on BMX bikes (and they probably wear gear), other just their reg bikes - being goofy.

There's a great programme out there called Smart Risk-No Regrets that helps kids learn not to cross their  'stupid line'  - specifically targetted at this age group ... check it out  http://smartrisknoregrets.ca/  Lots of great resources for school or church or community youth groups. 

A lot of those well-protected handlebars are on bikes that are not being pedaled by kids or teenagers.