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Comment by bambax | Hacker News Reader

> Opportunities to engage in outdoor free play—and risky play in particular—have declined significantly in recent years, in part because safety measures have sought to prevent all play-related injuries rather than focusing on serious and fatal injuries.

Of course. "injuries" don't matter, only serious and fatal ones do. A scratch is nothing and is healed in a couple of days. Even breaking a leg should not be considered serious. It's annoying, esp. for the parents, but it's in no way life-threatening.

Although I'm sure it has happened, it seems unlikely that any kind of play in a playground could result in serious injury or death. Let the kids play outside. And don't force them to put a coat in cold weather if they don't want to! Let them decide!

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"don't force them to put on a coat"

I'm in the middle of this right now with a 2 year old. Allowing your child to make decisions you disagree with has many down stream consequences, like what food they eat, what time they go to bed, how much screen time they watch, whether they sit at the table to eat.

How's that gonna go when it's time say "don't force them to do their homework, let them decide!"?

It's not about the coat, though the coat can be a matter of life or death in the case of a car accident or the sudden unexpected incapacitation of the parent, it's about following instructions and setting boundaries and being able to make the necessary decisions as a parent.

I'd say drawing a line in the sand where you don't need to is not about the coat or the slippery slope it doesn't cause if you don't do it.. It is about needing to be a helicopter parent because you have lost their respect.

As a parent of twenty somethings,I would advise parents not to pressure their kids to do anything much unless it's really stupid dangerous (not just dangerous). Wouldn't/didn't pressure them to do homework. Bit my tongue as they jumped of rocks into seething oceans and rocketed down mountain trails beside ravines. Half of the battle of parenting is not passing on your own fears to the kids.

BIT my tongue. Maybe should have written "your own fears", not just neurotic fears, hard to differentiate really.

Whats the other half?

With matters pertaining to risk, you can let the laws of physics do most of the tough talking.

Giving the child some autonomy doesn't mean that you need to follow antiauthoritarian parenting schemes. It might even make it easier to convince the child to do the things that are important if you don't pressure them about things that are not important.

> it seems unlikely that any kind of play in a playground could result in serious injury or death.

I think more important than the setting is ensuring they know how to play safely. Third most common cause of death is accidental self inflicted injuries. A lot of those are falls.

But we are living in a capitalistic society and injured kids probably mean reduced work force....

In a capitalistic society do injured kids mean reduced work force or more money for Big Medicine?

The kind of injury I imagine to happen on playgrounds does normally just need time to heal. Maybe a cast and some pain killers. Doesn't seem to generate a lot of profit for big medicine.

I mean yeah, a parent might have to take time off work. If they even can…

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