Posted on 01/18/2013 1:02:36 PM PST by Hojczyk
Worried parents will ban their children from making snowmen and having snowball fights this winter - for fear they will catch a cold, a study found.
The protective one in five mums and dads, 20 per cent, will try to stop their youngsters falling ill by keeping them wrapped up warm indoors.
Furthermore, 29 per cent say it is "too dangerous" to let them outside because they may slip on ice or be bruised by a tightly-packed snowball.
That is despite many parents admitting they "enjoyed" playing outside when they were younger, the study by Chessington World of Adventures Resort found.
A stressed 20 per cent say they are "too tired" or "too busy" to supervise their children outside, so they find it easier to ban them completely.
David Smith, General Manager at Chessington World of Adventures Resort said: "Building snowmen and throwing snowballs are activities children have been doing for years.
"Getting outside and having fun is all part of growing up so it is a shame many of today's youngsters are not experiencing this fun as parents are scared they may catch a cold or get hurt.
"Whether it's in the snow or in warmer temperatures, studies have shown playing outside is good for children's health, is character building, and can also boost their confidence."
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Good! More snow for us!
It is amazing how many people still believe that viral infections, colds and influenza, are caused by exposure to cool temperatures.
well, I suppose that explains why the Brits don’t have an Empire any longer...
Oh, it’s British parents. Figures...
In my day, Canadian moms put razor sharp blades on their kids feet and shoved them outdoors to find a frozen pond. If the kids were boys, they gave them a stick with a sharp bend at the end, and a half pound of hard rubber. They told the boys to hit that rubber as hard as they could with the stick, in the general direction of other boys — and to knock down, or punch out any other boys, who got in their way.
Snow was for building forts and snowballs. If you had enough of it piled up nearby, you could tunnel in it, until the whole works collapsed on you. If you had a hill nearby, you sled down it, with anything that came to hand. Just remember to roll off, just before the big tree.
When you had frostbite on all your extremities, you could come in and get a scalding-hot cup of cocoa.
In Carlisle MA it is illegal for anyone to throw a snowball.
seriously ??
The long, long winters of the Boston area...my sons would have eaten me alive if I was like this. : )
Soon it will be illegal to have more then 10 snowballs in your possession.
Don’t eat the yellow snow!
Oh that is one sweet pond!!! Not even any shopping carriages or anything sticking out of the ice (that I can see)...man, those were the best days, skating until you couldn’t feel your feet.
You see this in the United States too. There was a map put out on the internet (I can’t remember the site) that showed how far each generation allowed their kids to roam away from the house without supervision. In the 50s, it was a couple miles, in the 70s, it was perhaps a mile and now, it was a block. Parents are allowing their kids to do less and less activities that involve risk. In the old days, a kid breaking his arm was no big deal. A kid getting in a fight was no big deal. These days, its a crisis.
***because they may slip on ice or be bruised by a tightly-packed snowball. ***
Bruised? When we were kids in NM we fought serious snow ball fights! The kids we were fighting started putting rocks in their snowballs, we fought back by putting cactus in ours!
The British USED to be Lions, striding over the world.
They’ve turned, in two generations, from Lions. . . .to hamsters. . . a nation of eunuch sheeple. . .
Just scanning over this free range kids site and its kind of refreshing to see a lack of hysteria.
The more time a kid spends outside playing, especially in the dirt, the healthy they are. Period.
Son #2 had the name of Pigpen when he was little after the Peanuts comic strip character and for much the same reason. I’d have him scrubbed and dressed to go out and he would be filthy by the time I got him from the house to the car. He loved to lay in the dirt and play with his toy cars and construction equipment. But, he was rarely sick. Even now, if he says he’s not feeling well, which rarely happens, he’s really sick (he just turned 31).
I don’t know what’s wrong with people today. The more exposure kids have to dirt and things, the better off they are.
That which does not kill you makes you stronger!
We usually played touch but with deep snow we played tackle football. Snow time was fun time for me and my friends. Tunnels, forts, snowball fights, getting cold and frozen then coming home to moms warm dinner and warm house
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.