All of those "violent" kids games

[insertNameHere]

In elementary school during gym class there was one incident where a kid tripped and lost some teeth falling into the stage that was couple feet high because it was also the auditorium. Of course if i remember right he was a dick and it was karma. but in my whole K-12 experience that was the only major injury during all the stupid things at school. Sure few people doing dumb things outside of school.

Want dangerous fire an arrow into the sky and see who can last the longest.... did that and lived.

[BlaqueKatt]

I say we wrap our children with bubble wrap and/or packing peanuts before sending them outside!!!

WHAT ARE YOU THINKING! THAT'S A CHOKING/SUFFOCATION HAZARD! Why do you hate children?

I broke my ankle in first grade on a merry-go-round-the kind you ride while others push it-yeah I know

even with the cast on(which was up past my knee), I continued climbing the monkey bars, playing tag(crutches give extra reach ), playing red rover, etc.

Damn-violent kid's games-try the fun game of "para-soccer" we invented at summercamp WITH the councilors. It involved jumping off the roof of a shed.

we also played "submarine freeze tag" which had the added peril of in order to unfreeze someone you had to dive under them(from a run, usually similar to a headfirst baseball slide), which really bit if they were frozen with their feet together, then you just had to crash into them while sliding.....minor injuries abound during childhood, just go with it, it makes for some cool scars and even cooler stories to go with them later in life. Builds character.

[blas87]

I'm still pissed that boys can tackle for football, and girls can't. At least not at local high schools for powder puff football.

By the way, why does it have to be called powder puff? There are girls out there scarier than Clay Matthews. Perhaps nowhere near as big, but if I saw one of them running at me, I'd toss the shoes and hope my Tiger Blood started kicking in.

[MadMike]

But otherwise, kids are going to get cut, bruised, and roughed up a little being kids. That's normal and they will heal in time. Builds character.

Exactly. I was another kid who was small for my age, up until I was 12 or 13 and went thru a massive growth spurt. And while I got my share of bumps, scrapes, bruises, and cuts, I rarely got hurt seriously. The three times that I can think of off the top of my head where when I was six and another kid pushed me into a creek, and I hit my knee on a sharp rock (that knee still gives me problems to this day), when I was eight and I wrecked my bike trying to ride it down the mountain (did a header over the handlebars and did a face-plant -- ended up with stitches), and when I was 14 and fell off of one of those old-style TV antennas that look like a 3D ladder (broke my wrist.) And since my mom was a nurse, she didn't freak out even about the bad injuries. The only time I ever saw her freak out was when I was climbing a tree, and all but one of the branches supporting me broke, leaving my hanging by one hand briefly.

Getting hurt can be scary. These idiots "educating" our kids is even scarier.

[Greenday]

What's the point of even going then? If you basically can't do anything, why go? I went to our summer camp each day because it was fun. Whether it was dodgeball, kickball, soccer, handball, or whatever, it was awesome. And when someone got hurt, they got some ice then they were on their way.

I remember in 8th grade we used to play tag on the jungle gym every day. One day we started up and a lunch monitor told us no one is allowed to run around the jungle gym anymore. Apparently, some younger kid over the weekend slipped, fell, and broke his arm. So because someone got hurt outside of a school, those in school were punished. So we played slow-mo tag just to piss everyone off until they gave in.

[Racket_Man]

I too got through childhood with a sufficent supply of scrapes, bruises, bumps bleeding, etc. but I survived abit with a few permanent scars ans such. never broke anything but made a good attempt. got my ankle sliced up in a bicycle wheel, split open my knee by falling into a sidewalk that was broken up, various slices on sharp objects, hand was run over while ice skating, fell onto a mechanical pony ride and split my eyebrow open, slipped down rocky hill and sliced open my hand, ya know the things "normal" kids go through and give their parents heart attacks with

this is getting to be as bad as warning labels such as on chainsaws: "Do NOT attempt to stop chain with hands or genitals"

[FArchivist]

New York State is now banning a lot of summer camp type games and imposing more regualtion and registration and costs (on-site certified medical staff). games like freeze tag, wiffle ball, kick ball, dodge ball are now verboden.

I can understand why dodgeball is verboten. They got rid of that game here in GA sometime during the 1990s - far too late for me, of course. Before I got my linebacker shoulders, I got hit by the most common method of playing dodge ball multiple times. Mainly, being spiked in the face by a rubber ball from a foot away. While being held.

But freeze tag? Kickball? How are those even remotely dangerous?

Can't say about kickball (never played it), but freeze tag? Three words: tackling and dogpiling.

How is freeze tag a violent game? you run around till someone tags you and you stand still "frozen" or am I getting it mixed up with the "Live hand grenade down the pants" game?

Mostly it depends on how you tag people. Of course, tagging is only supposed to be a touch, maybe a push.

In my experience, it was always tackling, a bitch slap, being tripped and then footstomped, getting an elbow chock to the head...

Oy, parents just don't want their kids being kids anymore, do they?

Actually, I think it has to do more with legal liability than aught else. If a kid gets injured playing one of these games, then that leaves the school/camp/whatever responsible for the injury and thus a prime target for being sued.

I dunno. Because of the violent treatment I got in grammar school, by the time I was in high school and attaining my full growth I had a distinct antipathy for any type of physical game. Still do.

[fireheart17]

I skimmed the article and read the comments. A few probably hit the nail on the head: sounds like a money grab, BUT also it does sound like the lawsuit thing is going too far.

In primary school, we played dodgeball with soft foam balls that do pretty much ZERO damage if thrown hard-they're made entirely of soft foam. We played soccer baseball (sort of became a staple with us). It's as it sounds: you just use a soccer ball instead of a baseball and you kick it instead of hitting it. In Year 5, we played this game called Matball, which is a very weird mix of baseball, dodgeball and cricket. Nobody ever had problems with them and nobody got sued. (if I get into teaching this time next year I plan on introducing Matball as part of my placement)

And freeze tag? WTF?!

[Eisa]

I wished Red Rover was verboten as a kid...that game hurt! I've always been little for my age, and I could never push through the line.

Dodgeball was ok [I was unpopular, too]...the only problem with dodgeball is that some of the balls were so old, they had practically fossilized into rock-hard missiles of death. That to the face--if thrown hard enough, I think it would have been possible to break someone's nose.

Everything else is ridiculous. It's like yeah, accidents happen, bruises happen. I bruise super easily, so you can imagine.

I remember in high school [9th or 10th grade, maybe?], we went on a field trip to explore the ice caves. I ended up getting my foot caught between two rocks and I mildly sprained my ankle. I just limped around until I got home and wrapped my ankle up. No biggie.

[wolfie]

Yet gloved boxing and football are totally kosher. *epic eyeroll*

How can football possibly be considered kosher? Ever heard the colloquial term for a football? Those kids are tossing around the ol' pigskin.

[blas87]

I got more injuries (thankfully, none ever requiring more than a quit visit to urgent care) from playing basketball than I did playing games on the playgrounds or dodgeball or whatever.

Come to think of it, I have an entire supply of Bengay and IcyHot because of pulled muscles and other injuries I get from running and lifting weights.

[insertNameHere]

It used to be little johnny came over to play, injured himself doing something stupid at your house. Little johnny went home and got yelled at by his parents for being an idiot.
Now, little johnny injures himself you have to legitimately be concerned your going to be sued for everything your worth. Bonus points are achieved, when little johnny jumps locked fence into your yard, then jumps the fence around your pool. You get back from vacation to find out your being sued for not having a sign that says no life guard on duty..... how was little johnny supposed to know! I mean, sure there was a winter cover over the pool but it did have water on top of it. so little johnny jumped into the deep end. broke through the cover and luckily because there was no water is only paralyzed and not dead from drowning.

To me, I would consider having two locked fences separating the public from your pool is a reasonable attempt to say stay out.

I honestly think rising healthcare costs along with companies not providing the same levels of insurance they used to is part of the problem. That and a general lack of responsibility on the parents part

[Cheshire]

The article makes it seem as if the majority disagree with the decision,which makes me wonder whom the politicians are catering to....

[Dreamstalker]

It seems that anything, no matter how stupid or ridiculous, can be pushed through using "for the children" somewhere in the argument.

[Andara Bledin]

If you ever hear anyone claim it's "for the children," it's likely some bullshit that nobody sane would ever allow to go through. But somehow, when that phrase is uttered, many otherwise rational individuals lose all ability to reason and think for themselves.

^-.-^