Tag! You're sued!

[ThomasC]

School bans tag, other chase games (http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/18/no.tag.ap/index.html)

[Jumpman]

That's just silly. Kid's are supposed to get knicked, how else will they ever learn to duck and cover/ bob and weave?

[Furry Varmint]

"Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban."

School is a time when accidents can happen.

[DirtyD98]

"Recess is "a time when accidents can happen," said Willett Elementary School Principal Gaylene Heppe, who approved the ban."

School is a time when accidents can happen.

what a Gay principal.........

[jcarwash31]

Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.
Oh please. Near collisions!? Kids those age run into each other, fall down, and get back up and keep running. They might get some cuts and scrapes, but that's all part of being a kid. This is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard (I seem to have been saying this a lot lately).

We used to play football all the time at recess and an even cruder game called "smear the queer" that was basically 1 vs everybody with everybody trying to tackle the 1. When I was in 4th grade, I fell off of an icy slide and landed on my head. I had 25 stitches. We didn't sue. They didn't ban the slide. Shit happens.

[dannyboy]

We didn't sue.
That's the key. This country needs tort reform in a bad way.

[gwar469]

let's see...in gradeschool, i:
got tripped on asphalt and craked my forehead open;
got beaned in the face with a kicked kickball;
received numerous scraped knees and elbows, to the point where they are discolored now;
tore several pairs of pants;
tore several shirts;
got kicked in the face my someone on a swing;

and yet, i'm still here. nobody got sued. why don't we just dress our kids in bubble-wrap from head to toe and send them out to the world?

[BigSugar]

i rep a kid who was picked up in a tackle football game at recess and slammed on his head. multiple seizures and 5 days in ICU later, his brain doesn't work the same way it used too and he's got permanent damage.

my personal view is that recess is not a time for physical altercations or sports requiring physical contact, esp. since most recess is conducted on asphalt or concrete areas. kids don't think about consequences, so adults have to do it for them.....if they fail to take the proper precautions, that's when injuries and lawsuits happen.

[OldManIndieKid]

i rep a kid who was picked up in a tackle football game at recess and slammed on his head. multiple seizures and 5 days in ICU later, his brain doesn't work the same way it used too and he's got permanent damage.
http://www.glarkware.com/media/product_main_u_ambulance.jpg

:D ;) :p

[sayer_of_nay]

kids don't think about consequences, so adults have to do it for them.....if they fail to take the proper precautions, that's when injuries and lawsuits happen.

If today's kids are never allowed to be in situations that will teach them that actions have consequences then who will teach their children?

Or is that the job of our litigious society?

[wileE]

School is a time when accidents can happen.
Life is a time when accidents can happen.

Coddle all you want, that just sets kids up for worse injuries. If they don't know what can hurt them, they won't think twice about doing something really risky.

[Furry Varmint]

Life is a time when accidents can happen.

Fair enough.

[dannyboy]

Bubble wrap suits for everyone I say!






:rolleyes:

[justmaybetiger]

http://www.armorofgodpjs.com/comingsoon.jpg

Either that or give all the children sparring pads.

http://www.gungfu.com/pics_general/pics_sparring_gear/lightning_helmet_with_faceguard.jpg

[1979]

http://www.gungfu.com/pics_general/pics_sparring_gear/lightning_helmet_with_faceguard.jpg


Oh yeah! THIS is what I wish I was doing at recess as a kid... that would have been the greatest!

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/boxes/americangladiators.jpg

[wileE]

Oh yeah! THIS is what I wish I was doing at recess as a kid... that would have been the greatest!

http://www.planetnintendo.com/thewarpzone/boxes/americangladiators.jpg
No shit! armor up the kids and send them out to the playground. That would be awesome.

[Shlep]

We used to play football all the time at recess and an even cruder game called "smear the queer" that was basically 1 vs everybody with everybody trying to tackle the 1.

Oh, man...I used to *LOVE* "Smear the Queer." :D The kid who invented that is a frickin' legend in my book. Got the easiest and most straighforward rules ever:

1) Throw a football in the air
2) Try and grab it
3) If you catch it, run like hell
4) If you don't, dive into the giant mosh pit of kids trying the strip the ball away

Nerf footballs were great for that game, as you could really get a grip on them. Of course, they were good for plain ol' football too, since they allowed the average 9-year-old could throw bombs that would make John Elway look like a hairdresser tossing rice at a wedding.

Yeah, this ongoing culture of litigation is a pity. Pain and injury are part of life, an important part really as they are Gods' way of reminding you not to be a total dumbass. And while taking some common-sense precautions to prevent them is important, completely sucking all the fun out of being a kid is too much.

[Handy Smurf]

Another Willett parent, Celeste D'Elia, said her son feels safer because of the rule. "I've witnessed enough near collisions," she said.
"OH MY GOD THEY'VE COLLIDED!"
:rolleyes:


I actually had a 2nd grade teacher who was responsible for similar type actions taken at my gradeschool. The bizarre thing was, that it seems she coerced the other 2nd grade teachers into going along, and that is the only reason it happened. In other words, it wasn't school policy. Let me explain.

This was a youngish teacher, probably in her mid-late 20s (who actually was pretty damn hot...even as a 2nd grader I remember that). I was in her homeroom, and we were not allowed to discuss Super Mario Brothers or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles because they were "violent" and she believed children mimicked their "violent" behavior.* She always cited a story about some kid who was "playing" Ninja Turtles and opened a manhole cover, felt into the sewer, and injured himself.

Anyway, eventually, running was outlawed among second graders at recess, because "too many kids were getting hurt". There were no gradual steps taken. There was no "tag is gone," or "football is gone." They were suddenly telling a bunch of 7 year olds that they had to enjoy themselves and get needed excercise by walking around the playground. I remember that this was restricted to the second grade, because recess became segregated. We had to stay in a certain part of the parking lot. We got to watch the other grade who had recess at the same time run around and have fun.

Before long, it was determined that too many kids were breaking the rules and occasionally breaking into a slow jog, so the new mandate became "no running for half of recess, sitting in place for the other half." I seem to remember this didnt last long at all, maybe only one day. I think someones parent got involved and the administration told this wacko teacher to take her stupid ideas and shove them up her cunt.
I do remember, though, what happened on the first (and it mightve been the only) day that we had to stop during recess to sit down. I had a friend whose dad had been paralyzed a few years prior. He was pretty maladjusted because of it and was always quite the outcast in school. He decided that instead of sitting like everyone else, he was going to start running around, weaving in between all of the sitting 2nd graders. Shrill playground whistles and orders barked from teachers did nothing except strengthen his resolve, which led to him spitting randomly into the air as he ran, and students being showered with said expectorations. The teachers (and principal at this point) decided he was too hard to chase down if they had to weave through a bunch of 2nd graders dotting the pavement, so we got to get up and resume our recess (without anyone to keep us from running) on another part of the playground


*I can't imagine what this nutjob did years later, when she had moved onto the public elementary school and video games like Mortal Kombat came about...or even now, with Grand Theft Auto and whatnot

[wileE]

"OH MY GOD THEY'VE COLLIDED!"
:rolleyes:
No, they ALMOST Collided. The horror.

[monkey neck]

Heh. "Near collisions". What they really need is a Playground Traffic Controller.

[justmaybetiger]

It's so sad that everyone is so fucking afraid of being sued or suffer a few bumps and bruises that's it's almost impossible for kids to be kids anymore.

[classicgrrl]

I think the REAL problem is that the majority of recesses are held on concrete... and honestly thats kind of sad.

I dont' have a problem with running and tag but playing football, kickball, or baseball on concrete is asking for trouble.

if the kid that Sugar is repping had been on grass and soil, probably would not have been near as bad.

concrete is easy to maintain but doesn't help the kids.