Health and safety "extremists" were warned that they are hindering the development of children by wrapping them in cotton wool.The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents said it was "positively necessary" for youngsters to take part in activities which could lead to a twisted ankle or cut knee.
Instead, said chief executive Tom Mullarkey, they were being cosseted by "small-minded bureaucrats".
Henry came over to see what I was blogging about because I was laughing so much. The article has some pretty funny examples.
Last year, a Government-backed study found teachers are so scared of being sued if a class day out goes wrong they are taking pupils on "trips" in the school grounds.
Earlier this year, teacher Margaret Fields was reprimanded for taking pupils on a picnic lunch without carrying out a risk assessment.
This isn't only a "school" problem. I must admit, I've met a few parents with obsessive safety concerns and I'm a worst case scenario planner myself. That's one of the reasons I could never have small children and live in house with a swimming pool in the back yard.
Still, a certain amount of rough and tumble is good for children. A friend of mine has a son with multiple birth defects. The child's physical therapist commented how much better his development is than most children with the same types of defects. The physical therapist attributed the difference to the fact that this little guy has 4 older brothers who are not very careful with him when they play.
Since they are homeschooled, all day long this little guy is in the thick of rough and tumble with his brothers. The therapist said that most children with these types of problems lay in their cribs all day.
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