Stupid is as stupid does

It is too bad that our kids did not get to grow up like us, when we played outside all day in the woods. We did not wear helmets and safety belts... Where I lived we used to ride our bikes through the fog of the bug spray truck, which was probably DDT... I don't have too much trouble with this. The kids are probably showing off of grandma on the dock, and getting ready to help tie up the boat... Life jackets would probably be a good idea, but everyone makes mistakes...

Four Suns said:
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Holy crap!
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That pic doesn't sit well with me either.

A story of my experience w/ PFD's...

We are new to boating as a family. That said, I have 2 girls who will be 7 and 5 this coming weekend. We bought the boat, and with us never being on or near water, the girls were/are required to take swimming lessons this year (going very well and they love it I might add) and wear their PFD while on board the boat (duh! but they whine about having to wear them all the bloody time).

Last weekend I had them out with me and went to my local Marine Max to replace my #2 battery. While I was changing the battery out, they sat quietly on the swim platform and dangled their feet in the water while I watched. I turned my head to get a wrench for litteraly TWO SECONDS, and my older daughter stood up, slipped, paniced, grabbed her little sister to try and not fall in, and in they both went. 20 feet of water and 2 little girls who right now know how to dog paddle for a 1/2 minute or so if they kept cool.

THEY HAD THEIR PFD'S ON! They were a little panicked, but once I pulled them out (the water was 61 degrees), they were okay. We had a nice talk on the importance of life jackets. No more whining. They wanted to put/keep them on all day and the next time we were out.

Good lesson. I wouldn't want to learn the other way - if they HADN'T had their PFD's on.

Have a great week everyone!
 
Wow Ron:wow: First - glad they were both OK. :smt038 As a father of 3 smaller one's myself (11, 9, 6), I'm sure your heart was beating as fast or faster than theirs. I was so happy when I read that they DID have their PFD's ON. I sometimes get flack from my older two about "Dad's being safety crazy" as they call it, but hey I want to make sure their around to give me flack.:smt001

Way to go on being a smart Dad :smt038 ...even if I think you're nuts in letting your BIL continue to drive after hitting the sand bar... the wake jumping would have triggered a brisk wack to the back of his head if he were on my boat :grin:
 
rcknecht said:
It is too bad that our kids did not get to grow up like us, when we played outside all day in the woods. We did not wear helmets and safety belts... Where I lived we used to ride our bikes through the fog of the bug spray truck, which was probably DDT... I don't have too much trouble with this. The kids are probably showing off of grandma on the dock, and getting ready to help tie up the boat... Life jackets would probably be a good idea, but everyone makes mistakes...
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Rod, I used to agree with you on this until Father's day of 2002. My youngest was almost 6. He was riding his bike around the cul-de-sac in front of our house at a pretty good clip. I turned to talk to his brother when he wiped out. For some reason he suddenly turned the front wheel perpendicular to his direction of travel. The result was him flying over the handle bars and going face first into the concrete. I actually felt the impact through the concrete rather than heard it. And then there was that sickening silence that follows right before the screaming starts.

The result was that his helmet was shattered. He had cuts and scrapes all over his face and hands (he was still holding the handle bars when he hit the concrete). His nose compressed so much that he had scrapes in between his eyes. He had scrapes right up to where the edge of the helmet was. he chipped his orbital bone, I found out the next day, and had a concussion. The doc said there was no doubt he would would have been severly injured, if not killed, without the helmet.

I too rode around in boats (17' Mark Twain tri-hulls and inflatables with motors) without a lift jacket. Hell, I learned to ski without a vest. I also had to wait 30 minutes before swimming. Now I insist on vests for the kids, but I let them swim right after lunch. Point being we've learned alot over the past 30 years, and the safety equipment has come a long way, so we might as well use it.

I do wish I could just let my kids leave the house to go play and only have them check in for dinner. But the reality is times have changed.

Okay, off my soapbox...
 
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