Overprotecting Kids is Dangerous in the Long Run!

March 9, 2007
"Save the children" is the battle cry we hear from many legislators who sponsor bills such as SB 49. Should we legislatively be discouraging an activity that brings children and families together in a fun, wholesome and recreational activity?
What about horseback riding? Should we make a law prohibiting Hanna and Conner from riding a 1,500-pound, unpredictable mass of potential injury and death?
The gravest concern I have about this type of bill is this: Should we, as a society, be mitigating any and all the risk we can to our children? When does the overprotection of our children become a detriment to them later as adults? We protect, protect and overprotect some more; then, our children turn 18 and they get the cold hard boot of reality.
At that time, we expect them to know how to take appropriate risk in the college classroom, in business, in a profession or in a trade. Thank goodness for the soldiers, farmers, police, firefighters, business owners, entrepreneurs, mothers and fathers who teach their children that "risk" is an essential part of "life."
The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let's not go down that path.
-- Alex Olsen, Keizer