I knew that water slide would kill someone.

[Jackalope]

Thump - I took a similar approach with my son, though he showed no interest in cycling. Well, am taking, he's 14. I don't think any of those things are overprotective either.

I wasn't so much free-range as I was feral. There's a happy medium between that and helicopter parenting.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Exactly. I took pains to show him how to navigate tough stuff while minimizing risk, but aside from the helmet and life-jacket, I didn't -- and couldn't! -- bubble-wrap him. He still had to go to school and deal with bullies on his own he still had to fall off his skateboard learning an ollie.

One thing I know for sure, CD -- he'll appreciate the time you're spending wth him, as he grows older and these become warm memories. I wish my dad had been more involved.

[Losty]

I don't think having an early evening for the sake of my son's sleep -- something I've done many a time -- is overprotective. And I didn't just make my son use a helmet riding a bike, I set the example by donning one myself. That is not "overprotective".

At the same time, I took him trail-biking, canoeing, and taught him to shoot before he was twelve -- precisely because I wanted to imbue my approach to doing what might be risky with an attitude of safety.

I think there's a happy middle ground where we can encourage adventurousness and at the same time inculcate safety lessons.

Full disclosure: I was a free-range kid, with parents who encouraged me to get out and about. I may be biased even as I try to be balanced.

Sure you can encourage whatever you like. It's this attitude of looking down on people (not saying you personally do this) who are more over protective than you that bothers me.

For the most part I let my kids do all kinds of stuff that secretly terrifies me inside as long as I'm there and it's being done the way I think is best.

Things I won't allow; fishing without me ever period (much to my sister's dismay), riding any amusement park rides that they're technically too short or too young for or that I otherwise deem "unsafe looking", riding in the front seat of a car or without a booster seat ever, staying over with a friend whose parents I don't know personally or trust.

Some that people really find crazy: no koolaid or other "juices" that consist of nothing but corn syrup food color and sugar, no pop/soda/fizzy drinks or whatever you call it, no tea or other caffeinated drinks, extremely limited junk food. I think Leli was 4 when I first started letting her have food with seasoning on it. I'm super picky about whose dogs they can pet, I never ever let them play outside unsupervised, honestly...they don't do much of anything unsupervised. Even when they're sleeping I like to stop in and check to make sure they're ok before I lay down myself.

In practice I don't think I'm that over protective. Though I really don't let them drink from water spickets or even public water fountains. I'm an anxious parent but I try to hide it because I don't want my kids to be anxious. A lot of issues I have also include the way other people want to be able to treat my kids. This is mostly an issue with my son. People really dislike when I tell them they can't tell him he's not allowed to cry because he's a boy.

Baha. I don't know how this thread became me venting about how I am tired of people telling me how to raise my kids. Fml sorry guys.

[Edwardo Piet]

It's good to vent. You're not the only one that vents on threads and besides, personal examples are valid and real contributions to the conversation at hand

[Losty]

I kinda took the thread a bit OT lol

[Edwardo Piet]

It would be kind of weird if an AF thread didn't go off topic

[vorlon13]

meanwhile in Burundi . . .

[Thumpalumpacus]

Sure you can encourage whatever you like. It's this attitude of looking down on people (not saying you personally do this) who are more over protective than you that bothers me.

For the most part I let my kids do all kinds of stuff that secretly terrifies me inside as long as I'm there and it's being done the way I think is best.

Things I won't allow; fishing without me ever period (much to my sister's dismay), riding any amusement park rides that they're technically too short or too young for or that I otherwise deem "unsafe looking", riding in the front seat of a car or without a booster seat ever, staying over with a friend whose parents I don't know personally or trust.

Some that people really find crazy: no koolaid or other "juices" that consist of nothing but corn syrup food color and sugar, no pop/soda/fizzy drinks or whatever you call it, no tea or other caffeinated drinks, extremely limited junk food. I think Leli was 4 when I first started letting her have food with seasoning on it. I'm super picky about whose dogs they can pet, I never ever let them play outside unsupervised, honestly...they don't do much of anything unsupervised. Even when they're sleeping I like to stop in and check to make sure they're ok before I lay down myself.

In practice I don't think I'm that over protective. Though I really don't let them drink from water spickets or even public water fountains. I'm an anxious parent but I try to hide it because I don't want my kids to be anxious. A lot of issues I have also include the way other people want to be able to treat my kids. This is mostly an issue with my son. People really dislike when I tell them they can't tell him he's not allowed to cry because he's a boy.

Most of that is common sense to me.

Baha. I don't know how this thread became me venting about how I am tired of people telling me how to raise my kids. Fml sorry guys.

No need to apologize, we're good. Sorry if I got you torqued out of shape.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I kinda took the thread a bit OT lol

First time that's happened at AF since, oh, yesterday.

[Faith No More]

Well, if you want it back on topic...

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (WABC) -- A witness to the tragic death of a 10-year-old boy on the world's tallest water slide in Kansas has revealed gruesome details of how the boy died.

WARNING: The details in this story are graphic and may not be suitable for all readers

http://abc7ny.com/news/gruesome-details-...h/1461927/