5 dangerous things you should let your kids do - Page 2

[zh97]

Originally Posted by zo's ma

My ds would LOVE to spend a week at the school!!

Mine would too! However I just looked at the blog and the price tag for one week-$1000.00!

After our last homeschooling conference, where I discovered my daughter loved deconstructing the old electronics, I let her take apart an old broken CD player. That was all well and good, until I discovered her taking apart fully working, almost new electronics! The straw was the day I went to open her bedroom door and she had unscrewed it! Now we have agreed that she will get permission BEFORE disassembly.

[Sijae]

Originally Posted by zh97

Mine would too! However I just looked at the blog and the price tag for one week-$1000.00!

After our last homeschooling conference, where I discovered my daughter loved deconstructing the old electronics, I let her take apart an old broken CD player. That was all well and good, until I discovered her taking apart fully working, almost new electronics! The straw was the day I went to open her bedroom door and she had unscrewed it! Now we have agreed that she will get permission BEFORE disassembly.

Was it the Rethinking Education conference? I was there this year

Laura

[dillonandmarasmom]

Originally Posted by zh97

Mine would too! However I just looked at the blog and the price tag for one week-$1000.00!

After our last homeschooling conference, where I discovered my daughter loved deconstructing the old electronics, I let her take apart an old broken CD player. That was all well and good, until I discovered her taking apart fully working, almost new electronics! The straw was the day I went to open her bedroom door and she had unscrewed it! Now we have agreed that she will get permission BEFORE disassembly.

LOL!!

DS (almost 5) loves to tinker, too. Today he built a rocket ship out of an old engine hoist, a tv antenna, an old carseat, a squash racket, and some electrical tape. He showed his little sis how to sit on the back and explained to DH and I that he's done with the "frame" and will add the engine tomorrow...(DH and I stood at the kitchen window watching and giggling as he added each piece). What an awesome kid!!

I will have to tell DH about the school. He was a major tinkerer as a child--oh wait, those freshly drilled holes in the side of the computer case are reminding me that this manis still a major tinkerer....

[hellyaellen]

awesome advice! between me and kurt we've done all of these things...

climbing is the thing i get the most amount of flak for letting the kids do. they have a bunk bed and i let them play on the top bunk and my mom just freaks out!

[Marsupialmom]

I agree.

My kids do most or have done most of those things in some sort of fashion.

Go carts instead of cars.

They haven't played with fire much but my kids cook at ages that most people are startled with. My youngest started a fire and damaged a burner. My son because he has messed with fire he new how to handle the situation. WARNING FIRE EXTINGUISHERS are messy.

The girls use knives earlier than my son but my son had motor skills issue.

[saintmom]

Climbing pine trees can get sap in your kids hair-then they have a bald spot "like daddy!"

Letting your children have pocket knives and muti tools means they will carry them every where,even touring D.C.Gets the security guards all in a tizzy.LOL

Taking things apart means your garage will be full of boxes and parts and wires.Your kids might stay in there late into the night instead of playing endless hours of video games.


Just thought I'd warn ya

[mammal_mama]

Originally Posted by zh97

That was all well and good, until I discovered her taking apart fully working, almost new electronics! The straw was the day I went to open her bedroom door and she had unscrewed it! Now we have agreed that she will get permission BEFORE disassembly.

[mommy68]

I agree with this too.

My DD got over her obsession with knives a few years ago when she got the knife holder down by herself after pulling a chair to the counter and climbing up on it to get the knives and started to cut open bananas one by one. She then managed to slice her finger pretty good and it gave her a good scare. She has always been very respectful of knives and VERY careful with them since learning that grand lesson at the age of 3. I think that's the best way a kid can learn about something dangerous is to experience it firsthand somehow.

My kids will also be taught how to be around guns from a young age. We've already introduced BB guns to our oldest two (no real gun yet). They are comfortable around them. They know they are not toys and they have no curiosity about them since we don't simply say "NO GUNS" and that's that. We know they are informed and educated about guns so if they are ever around another child that isn't then hopefully they will at least know what to do in the situation.

[HikeYosemite]

The titles didn't really bother me; I guess I don't tend to have a knee-jerk PC reaction anymore (I've either mellowed or become kind of slow with age!). My husband heard a good review of the books on NPR and wanted to get them as Christmas gifts, and he rarely finds the opportunity to go shopping or picking out of gifts, so I wasn't about to get in the way. We have one boy who considers himself a pretty traditional boy, and a girl who considers herself all girl, and a girl who considers herself almost all boy. They seem to like the old-fashioned quality of the books, and anything that coaxes kids "away from their televisions and video games" to bring them outside is OK in my book.

Here's some writeups/links of the books from the websites:

http://www.dangerousbookforboys.com/
http://www.daringbookforgirls.com/

"The Dangerous Book for Boys coaxed boys away from their televisions and video games and brought them outside, teaching them how to skip stones, fly paper airplanes, and build their very own go-carts. But girls, too, are inspired by games, heroes, and escapades. Whether you’re a girly-girl, an athlete, a brainiac, or a little bit of everything, The Daring Book for Girls gets you ready for anything—from pitching a tent and building a campfire to running a lemonade stand and learning about female heroines in history. The Daring Book for Girls is the can-do, how-to manual for enthusiastic, unfettered adventure. It cheers girls on to be curious and brave, and above all, to have fun."

Originally Posted by majikfaerie

I saw those books in the store, and thought they seemed dodgy for having seperated boys and girls, not to mention the message that boys can do "dangerous" stuff, while girls just get to be a bit "daring". but maybe I was judging a book by its cover!

[moonshoes]

well I have to admit my kids have never done any of these things. I would let them though, especially the fire one. I'm on the fence about the knives, but I think the point is completely valid and I need to "undo" some of my uptightedness (is that a word?)

I'm intrigued by these books and I loved the talk. Thanks for sharing it.

[majikfaerie]

Originally Posted by zh97

The straw was the day I went to open her bedroom door and she had unscrewed it!

that's hillarious!
my brother used to do stuff like that.

we were at a local computer repair guy yesterday, and he had a huge pile of old computer parts and stuff outside, he said we could take what we like. so we brought home one old computer, for DD to take apart

moonshoes, if you're interested, here is an article I wrote about learning to trust children to find their own boundaries, and helping them stay safe.

[KaraBoo]

I remember my brother taking apart stuff and turning his acoustic guitar into an electric one. he made a speaker with a shoebox. I think it is really neat when kids take stuff apart and we let dd take apart anything that is broken...she's fascinated with circuit boards.

[WonderMa]

This is timely. I was just getting some flak the other night because DD5 was using a knife to cut out windows for one of her animals (she was making a house out of a cardboard box). I mean.. there are some things you just can't use scissors for! I think children should be able to use tools and be prepared to act when/if they have accidents. Much better than not knowing what to do at all.

[beanma]

I am fine with knife use with supervision and making campfires and taking apart things, but I have issues with circuit boards. They have a lot of heavy metals and noxious substances in them. If a kid is of an age to try to build a computer/robot/whatever then I think that's okay, but if it's a little kid who might put some of that stuff in mouth then I'm not so into it. Check out this National Geographic article on high tech trash. I am all for taking apart old bell-ringing alarm clocks, just not sure I want my kids messing with electronics, etc.

[WonderMa]

That's a great point, beanma. Something I didn't really think about..

[Kleine Hexe]

Originally Posted by WonderMa

This is timely. I was just getting some flak the other night because DD5 was using a knife to cut out windows for one of her animals (she was making a house out of a cardboard box). I mean.. there are some things you just can't use scissors for! I think children should be able to use tools and be prepared to act when/if they have accidents. Much better than not knowing what to do at all.

My mom gets on my case for letting my 3 yr old use a knife to help with cutting veggies and such. She also thinks I'm nuts for the fact that my kids use real glasses to drink and not plastic cups. The glasses are even at their level so they can get a drink when they want. Yes, glass has been broken. They have learned that when glass breaks they do not move and they wait until I get there.

[Wolfmeis]

Originally Posted by Kleine Hexe

My mom gets on my case for letting my 3 yr old use a knife to help with cutting veggies and such. She also thinks I'm nuts for the fact that my kids use real glasses to drink and not plastic cups. The glasses are even at their level so they can get a drink when they want. Yes, glass has been broken. They have learned that when glass breaks they do not move and they wait until I get there.

I just wrote a blog entry about that, right after I first watched this video. I wrote:

To that end, I let my wee girlie play with knives at the tender age of three.

Ok, so she wasn't playing with them--I wrote that for shock effect.

A lot of this reasoning would really naturally apply to AP mothers. After we AP our infants and toddlers, we have to progress into something else. We may not label what we do, but many authors have addressed the "shoulds" of middle childhood and Liedloff, Kohn, and Montessori each admonish the child has a capable person. We as parents have to remember that yes, they are children and that makes them different, but being a child is not tantamount to a disability.

[majikfaerie]

thanks for that link, beanma. I guess I'll make sure DD doesn't burn any of the computer parts we're taking apart this week, or stick them in her mouth

[MaShroom]

A word of caution to those who let your kids take appliances apart. Yeah, I know that caution is being thrown to the wind in this thread, but still... Make sure that the appliance is grounded out and there is no electricity lurking! I was going to try to fix my microwave that was less than a year old when it broke and the appliance repair guy reminded me of this. If it has been sitting awhile, it should be ok, but I think all it takes is a screwdriver to a circuit? Somebody help me out here... I'm obviously not an electrician, but I know enough to know that I don't want to be electrocuted. Can anyone elaborate on this?

[ShaggyDaddy]

Originally Posted by shroomama

Somebody help me out here... I'm obviously not an electrician, but I know enough to know that I don't want to be electrocuted. Can anyone elaborate on this?

Never ever take apart a computer monitor or a television (unless it is LCD, those are safe) The Cathode Ray Tube (the glass part) is connected to a giant capacitor (think of it like an instant discharge battery) so that when you turn it on it will come on imediatly. That capacitor has enough juice to kill you, and it can stay charged for months or years after the device is unplugged.

Any appliance that goes "POP" when you turn it on, and uses a lot of electricity could have a capacitor. Electric Clothes Dryers for instance have 2 giant killer capacitors in them. Some very high end stereo equipment has big capacitors included as well, but those are much safer because they are usually only 12-24 volt, but they are still dangerous.