Did you catch this? A Colorado Springs school banned tag because some kids — gasp! — were being chased against their will. More evidence that we’re turning kids into sheltered wimps.
“It causes a lot of conflict on the playground,” said Cindy Fesgen, assistant principal of the school, who said running games are permitted as long as kids don’t chase one another.
Good grief. And we wonder why there’s an obesity crisis among kids.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Registered?
Commenting on WE Blog now requires you to be a Kansas.com member. Use the links above to register, if you haven't already, or to log in.Contact us
Follow us
Daily Archives
-
Recent Comments
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Regular on Open thread 11/23
- Freebird1971 on Open thread 11/23
- BlueJay on Open thread 11/23
- Regular on Open thread 11/23
- outlander on Open thread 11/23
70 Comments
Randy,
This is your liberal feel good crowd at work.
Don’t know why you are suprised.
Schools are where we teach our kids that guns are bad, sex is great as long as you use portection, don’t hurt each others feelings, no competition because everyone is a winner…
Meanwhile, after they graduate High School, Jay Leno asks them a question on the Tonight Show about who Thomas Jefferson was and they have no clue.
“Liberal feel-good” crowd? In Colorado Springs?? (!)
I think Nathan would blame dandruff on liberalism.
Well, I must admit, it’s not very nice to chase kids against their will. I used to get chased a lot, still do in fact.
I kid, i kid.
But ban TAG??!?!?!?! Jesus. I know there’s no dodgeball anymore and I heard somewhere that even Red Rover is considered degrading or something.
Seriously, if children are feeling uncomfortable or harrassed, this should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis, not a blanket ban on all childhood games.
Personally, I love tags as a child, and felt upset when the other kids didn’t pick me to play along. The thing is, in games like this it should be clear, who’s playing and who’s out. Then this “chased against one’s will” can be largely avoided.
When I was a kid, I LOVED playing “tag.” It was healthy– running increased my stamina and I was out in the fresh air– and it was fun. I got pretty good at dodging and weaving my pursuers.
But then, I enjoyed dodgeball at school, as well. This business of banning a good kid’s game is idiotic. It truly ticks me off the way the adult world of today is trying to take away everything that is competitive on the school grounds because somebody’s widdle feelings might get hurt.
Maybe they can start playing “pretend,” where they actually don’t do anything, but pretend they’re doing something.
Maybe they’ll have time to learn where USA is located on a map; assuming, of course, they have a map:-)
This liberal thinks banning tag is ridiculous. I do so love how some blame EVERYTHING on liberals.
How about the teachers do their job and prevent bullying on the playground instead of tag. By actually watching the kids and getting involved rather than standing there?
If that teacher ever lands a finger on my child or says anything bad or punishes my child in any way, I’m suing the school district!
Yours truly,Today’s Parents!
Sam,Ain’t it the truth! And it crosses all lines of political ideology.
The Rose Hill schools banned tag many years ago. So obviously being “liberal” has nothing to do with it. I was appalled when I read that “chasing games” were prohibited at my child’s Rose Hill school because “tag” was extremely important to me as a child. I constantly had “scabs” on my knees (girls weren’t allowed to wear pants)… perhaps they banned it because “green soap” to wash the wounds costs too much. If you don’t want to play “tag,” jump rope with the girls.
My boys play tag among themselves all the time. They especially like to do it on the trampoline with me in the middle; getting dizzy as they switch directions. THAT IS WHAT SHOULD BE OUTLAWED!
Give grandpa a break; they exhaust me just watching them!
I was stopped at a red light the other day at 2nd and Oliver. The kids from the jr high school there were running laps. More than half of them were over weight and having trouble keeping up with their slimmer peers. All I could think of was how sad it is that today’s kids are so sheltered that you don’t even see them playing outside anymore. So many eat junk food and sit in front of computers or TVs way too much. We’re going to pay the price for all this obesity among our children. It’s a national tragedy.
I was reading one of the annual “Valedictorian speach stopped because of mentioning Jesus” stories, when I noticed that this particular young lady was one of 17 Valedictorians! 17 first-place winners! I wonder how many Saludictorians they had? Another example of the schools’ refusal to have any real competition.
I don’t know how we can blame liberals for these stupid acts…unless it’s because about 95% of the NEA is Democratic and they financially support the Democratic party with the dues paid by their members. Or maybe because something like 85% of administration and faculty at most schools are Democrats…a higher percentage in higher education, of course.
The fact that Demcrats are better educated than their neo con counterparts should be no surprise.
I was taking a Sunday evening drive, it was probably abut 80 degrees out, nice and cool, and breezy driving around. Almost ever car I passed had their windows up, so they must of had their air conditioners on, some of you people might as well live in a bubble on mars. I think its the parents fault for being over protective, crap happens, they shouldn’t stop their kids from living a rich childhood because of their selfishness and fear that they will get hurt. I’m glad my parents were not like that, I used to spend hours playing in the creek, and riding my bike around with my friends. Played tag at school, dodge ball, red rover, and smear the queer, all of which we’re fun, even though they involved mild violence, you learned what was acceptable as sport and what wasn’t.
“Smear the queer”? Hmmm..I agree, we had so much more freedom as kids, it’s a shame that kids today don’t have the same opportunities. We live in culture of fear and our kids are suffering because of it.
We had mandatory exercise at the school I attended. It was a holdover from the JFK fitness program. Calisthenics, running laps and stretching.
That was done early in the morning.
In the long recesses, we were allowed to run, jump, chase and generally anything we wanted as long as it didn’t involve fighting or destructive behavior.
Last I checked Colorado was one of the most liberal states in the country.
????, then you haven’t been to Colorado Springs!!
While Dems may be better educated, and I doubt that, they are just as stupid as Reps since both support their party. At some point soon, a third party will rise up and kick one or both of the party out of office.
The Dems made a bunch of promises last year, and have not even tried to keep most of them. They want to blame everyone but themselves. All they wanted to do was what the Reps have done, get back in power.
It has been a while, but I have been to the Springs and they were pretty liberal then. Even if the Springs are not liberal now, most of the state is.
no thats really no CEO left behind that was dear to bush’s heart.
The last I knew, Colorado Springs was the headquarters for the Christian Fundamentalist movement.
But there are so many things to be afraid of now-a-days: terrorism, child abductions, inflation, bird flu, antibiotic resistant germs, the housing market, global warming, non-organic foods, not getting into the good schools, Al Queda, Liberals, gays, tainted foods, lead in toys, oh my so many dangers!
Or maybe we just have life pretty good and too much free time to worry about things that have been going on for generations.
“At some point soon, a third party will rise up and kick one or both of the party out of office.
Posted by: Follower of history | September 04, 2007 at 11:12 AM ”
I would love to see a stong third party in the political arena. I do not want to to replace either of the current major parties though. That would lead us right back to where we are now. Having only 2 major parties brings too much partisanship to our governement.
I think its the parents fault for being over protective, crap happens, they shouldn’t stop their kids from living a rich childhood because of their selfishness and fear that they will get hurt.Posted by: WhiteElephant | September 04, 2007 at 10:19 AM
WhiteElephant, you got that right. I’ve been in my house for about 7 years. A couple down the street have a young boy that I’ve watched growing up over the past few years. When it came time to learn to ride a bike, out they came, the kid in knee pads, elbow pads, shoulder pads, with training wheels and his parents running along on either side with their hands joined in front and in back of the kid to make sure he didn’t fall. Talk about over protective!
Sometimes in life, you need to get scuffed up a little.
XXX,
There were many a good playing cards and any loose cardboard pieces for that matter, that fell victim to my bike’s spokes, so I could get that distinct sound as the cards hit the spokes. :)
And some parents dont allow their Kids to play outside at all
A related issue with the kids is paretns being overly paranoid about “dirt”. They wash everything with anti-bacterial soap etc and freak out if their kids get dirty. As a result, the kids end up with weak immune systems./
“And some parents dont allow their Kids to play outside at all”
I’ve decided they shouldn’t be allowed to play INSIDE!
;^)
If you couldn’t find cards to stick in your spokes, balloons were great!My mom used to threaten us if we didn’t stay outside..I think being a parent was so much easier in those days, you didn’t realize there were so many things to be scared of…my mom only saw us at meal times and after dark.
And she would ask “how did you cut yourself” and we would respond “I dunno”
Oxy-clean gets the blood out of the clothes great!
It seems some people these days–prefer rigid formulations to common sense.
Take biking. Helmets make sense, knee pads are at best optional, and the rest? How old was that kid again? Training wheels tend to take away most of the danger!
School administrators (that’s who we’re talking about here, not teachers) seem to have gone nuts. I recall hear not long ago when some 6-year-old was accused of sexual harrassment, for the “Crime” of a kiss and pulling a button loose.
It’s easy to cite such anecdotes and sssume this is the prevailing climate–surely it can’t be–but c’mon, now!
I think some teachers should weigh in here.
The only severe injury I recall at school, besides the sports injuries was when a boy in the sixth grade took a dare and ran full speed into the side of the building (brick wall) and knocked himself unconscious. He did it on a “dare.”
He had a moderate concussion as he tilted his head down like a bull for the full effect.
dumb
The fact that Demcrats are better educated than their neo con counterparts should be no surprise.
Posted by: Mary Caruso | September 04, 2007 at 10:16 AM—————————–
Yes Mary, could you give me the source for this. I have been told that it was only the rich selfish GOPer that could afford a good education.
Tongue in cheek, getting banged up may be good for the gene pool. Parents are so protective, their kids don’t get a chance to learn survival. While I was growing up, I saw and knew of several kids being killed. Example:A 13 year-old kid up the street got a new Cushman scooter. The first thing he did was go to the busy intersection at the end of the street and race back and forth in front of oncoming traffic with his buddy on the back. The eventual results were predictable; a stationwagon hit them at 40 mph. They died in the street before the ambulance got there. Sad for the parents…probably good for the gene pool.
The fact that Demcrats are better educated than their neo con counterparts should be no surprise.
Posted by: Mary Caruso | September 04, 2007 at 10:16 AM
Maybe the Republicans are better spellers? (Demcrats)
:)
Or maybe republicans spend too much time nit-picking and not enough time learning.
The Dems spend more time nitpicking and offering fewer suggestions.
So, I made one typo, that is less than the average Dem for most of the regular posts on a given day.
For all practical purposes, the Demican or Republicrat party is the same party, and it is pathetic that the American public is too slow to catch on. My European blog friends comment on this issue frequently.
The D/R party relies on the hatred from both sides to keep the masses occupied so they keep getting reelected. If both sides stopped and thought, they would catch on and the D/R party would be out of jobs come next election.
The repeated attempts to politicize this are tiresome.
Hey, “???????”, are you related to “?????”?
No, I am not. I don’t even read their posts most of the time.
I agree the politicizing it a waste of time, but some people start an issue and then complain if someone else doesnt challenge them.
Schools need to get back to basics and deal with what they are supposed to be doing, educating the kids.
The kids need the exercise and I have yet to see where tag caused any short or long-term psychological damage to a kid.
According to reports, obesity will skyrocket from its current 66% to 75% by 2011.
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ROSE HILL? Rose Hill school disctict is just across the Sedgwick County border south of Andover, right here in our back yard. I don’t care what you think about co springs… what about the BANNING OF CHASING GAMES RIGHT IN OUR OWN BACK YARD? “You people” must care more about bashing dems or repubs than what’s going on to your own.
I’m really really damn tired of all the fear parenting. I do think it’s gone too far.
I agree with Mary, my parents told me to go find something to do- and I’d see them when they called for me or when it was time for tick check before bed.
We should equip all our kids with bullet proof vests, dress them in padded rubber suits, make them wear football helmets….
School Buses should have straped seating like NASCAR, be equiped like tanks, have each kid in an isolated seat so they can’t make physical contact with anyone…
A question relating to the thread topic: Just what do I have to do to get the ‘little dears’ winded? They just seem to ‘keep on going’.
Funny thing is I think we are in agreement – left and right. Let ‘em run, let ‘em climb, let ‘em get ‘boo-boos’
Get them all Cushman motor scooters!
Sorry ;(
The best way to deal with ADD is not with medication but to make the kid run laps around the house about ten times.
Have you noticed that since kids have become less physically active and more addicted to TV and video games, the incidence of ADD has skyrocketed?
I find this discussion very interesting from a european point of view.
Here in Europe we put millions of Euros into programs to get the kids out (and away from TV, PS etc.).
Somebody suggesting somethig like banning playing tab would be treated like a smoker in your country …
I actually think 90% of ADD diagnosis are just cases of bad parenting. Its easier to make up a disease, syndrome, disorder to excuse bad behavior than to own up to the behavior. If a kid can sit in front of a TV and play video games and watch cartoons all day he doesn’t have ADD. Most ADD kids could be fixed with an old fashioned beating and boundaries.
I agree Werner about the European commitment to sports. When I was in Germany there were so many programs facilities for kids and adults to be involved in some kind of sport, it was a never exhausting list of things to do. Heck, even Volksmarching for those who just wanted to walk.
Tom,
I agree that ADD and ADHD are at least 90% overdiagnosed. Between sugar and not enough activities, the kids are hyper, but that is curable by reducing sugar and requiring exercise.
A recent study claims that ADHD is actually underdiagnosed, and a lot more kids should be placed on ADHD drugs. These drugs have not been fully tested on kids and the long-term side effects are unknown. Sounds like a drug company sponsored test. Kind of like the French Red Wine sponsored test that showed only French Red Wine improved health.
I can only add….”Tell the Kids to quit acting like Kids”.
Without toys they will find something fun to do. We did and they will too. Just keep the adults out of it.
I forgot to add, kids used to burn that excess energy off by doing physical activities and not by being stuck in a classroom seat for prolonged periods.
????, Kids today develop emotional problems as well as health problems from not exercising and burning up all that extra energy. A kid might get diagnosed as ADD, well how do people expect kids to act if their not burning up all that pent up energy they have. Adults are the same way, instead of ADD, adults get diagnosed as having an anxiety disorder, well, when you don’t use up your energy physically it has to be used up in other ways, and some people use up their energy by over thinking and analyzing and fretting over trivial crap. The food most people eat doesn’t help either, the most readily available foods in our society are things rich in fat, sugar, and salt. If people would avoid eating those three things on a regular basis, then a lot of problems would go away.
People naturally crave things in salt, fat, and sugar, because it was an evolutionary trait developed for survival. Back before civilization, in our hunter and gathering days, people had to find food on a daily basis and quick, and that crave for simple sugar foods, and high calorie content foods was needed for our survival. Today, thats what fast food sells, because thats what sells the best, they sell us the worst food to eat, because we naturally crave it, never in modern societies have we had so much of our survival food in abundance, and its all there, because people are out to make a profit. Naturally people will sell, what sells the best, and un healthy food is the best selling food.
“People naturally crave things in salt, fat, and sugar, because it was an evolutionary trait developed for survival.”
And men developed telepathy because they had to communicate without spooking the game.
Women talked and talked and talked because they had to communicate where the edible vittles were and make noise to scare away animals that might eat them.
Brilliant armchair evolution!
White Elephant, adults are also now being diagnosed with ADHD. I have been so diagnosed by a doctor as has one of my friends. He opted to take meds, I opted to not take meds.
Sugars are an acquired taste, according to some experts. Kids not exposed to sugars dont crave them like kids exposed to sugars frequently. Most cereals are loaded with sugar, even some unusual ones like certain brands of Raisin Brand. If the picture shows sugar coated Raisins, then the label shows a high sugar content.
I agree that unhealthy sells the most, but price has a lot to do with it. I can buy a lot more healthy food than healthy food for the same amount of money.
I agree with the avoiding the salts, fats, and sugars and the pent up energy. A lot of the early schooling (not sure how far) should be PE related and not setting in desks or other sedentary stuff.
My daughter was a good example of how bad sugar is. I stopped giving her sugar products because I noticed she was bouncing off the walls when I gave her small amounts of sugar. I know the experts claim there is no relationship between sugar and hyperness, but I know too many parents that would disagree.
???
Men developed telepathy because women say one thing, but mean something totally different. She will tell no she doesnt/does want you to do something when she really means she wants you to do the opposite. If you are married on in a long term relationship, you learn this early or pay the price.
???, armchair evolution. No wonder Christians are getting a lot of backlash from people lately. Why do you guys try and pick fights with people that believe adaptable evolution is relevant. Is there any reason for that?
Once again the conservatives will not let the kids have even a second of fun. In fact they have cancelled recess in some schools. I guess they need the time to teach Creation Science and Intelligent Design!
“”"”Liberal feel-good” crowd? In Colorado Springs?? (!)
I think Nathan would blame dandruff on liberalism.”"”
Liberalism? In Boulder maybe. In Colorado Springs- NOT!
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
“El Paso County is located in Colorado’s 5th congressional district. Since its creation in 1871, El Paso County has voted for the Republican presidential candidate in every presidential election.”
I suppose we can blame sugar and inactivity for all the autism now too?
Please. ALL neurological disorders are on the rise…couldn’t be from all the CHEMICALS we’re exposed to or anything like that. No……..
Adhd is real, and all the studies show that SUGAR doesn’t make a twit of difference. Nor red food dye.
But you’ll notice all the ones who advocate just a good beating will cure those are the least educated of all. Maybe there is a connection?
If you’ve ever had a kid with problems like this, you know full well that it’s not just normal kid stuff. An ADHD kid can attend to something that interests them because it interests them. It gets harder to focus on items not so interesting. That’s normal for anyone, but ten times harder for ADHD.
I probably had undiagnosed ADHD when I was a child. I remember daydreaming all the time- and it wasn’t that I didn’t want to concentrate- I just simply could’nt stop my mind from wandering. I grew out of it.
political mom I did not see where anyone blamed sugar for ADHD, ADD, etc. They did say that too many children were labelled that way because they were acting like they were afflicted. If I believed the numbers doctors keep spouting there are no children that are not suffering from some neurological disorder or other.
I do agree that the various chemicals in food, pesticides, and other things are likely causing a lot of our problems. Butter has been shown to be healthier than margarine in many ways because it is a natural product. Look at the chemical molecule for margarine and then look at the chemical molecule for plastic.
Too many doctors are too quick to label people with some short of medical condition. A friend of mine was labelled as IBS when he was actually suffering from drug toxicity. Had the doctor ran a simple blood test, he would have seen that. My friend could have died. After being taken off the medicine, he no longer had any IBS symptoms. The doctor would not admit that he was wrong or that the drug was to blame.
I have observed that much of Talk Radio programming serves two purposes: 1) to drive home some false idea that public schools are government schools, and 2) that ADHD and ADD are liberal inventions that are not real.
As usual, there are many medical studies, and research that prove them wrong on ADHD and ADD.
And they also try to blame it on too much sugar and caffeine. I find it so humorous that one of the Talk Radio hosts, an avowed Mormon, is constantly trying to blame ADHD/ADD on caffeine. :-)
I do not listen to talk radio as I find it as bad as the other side of the coin. Mormons allow caffiene if it is cold, like sodas, but not hot, like most coffees. They changed that rule after acquiring a certain cold beverage caffiene company.
As to government schools, public schools are government schools, unless you mean something different? They are funded almost exclusively through government monies, school district, state, federal, et c. Public schools try to stamp out individuality. I thought outside the box too much as a child and was constantly told that was inappropriate, instead of being encouraged because of my creativity. I learned to not show my outside the box creativity at school, but I did not give it up. I was naturally left handed, but was taught to write right handed because left handed was not acceptable.
There are several nonmedicated treatments for ADHD and ADD, but doctors like to write scripts instead. I prefer using some of the European options which have been proven effective for a number of different medical problems. In Europe, insurance covers most of these options, but here they are not covered. Here the doctors say they are unproven and do not work, ignoring the European results.
I would like to see some unbiased research to see how many of our current health problems are caused by the various chemicals used, specifically the preservatives and other nonnatural stuff in foods.
Fact or Fiction, you be the judge.
Four studies: two studies support TV as impacting attention problems and two studies say TV does not impact attention problems.
http://health.msn.com/general/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100169624>1=10412
The link does not show what the other three studies found, other than saying one supported most of this study and the other did not.