EAT DIRT AND LIVE

YESTERDAY we told parents whose kids have not been fully vaccinated to wake up.

Today we urge parents to resist their nanny urges and to let children experience the rough and tumble of the playground.

The two stances are not mutually exclusive. On the one hand, as a species we need herd immunity if we are to survive and if diseases that are capable of killing and maiming our children are to be eradicated. On the other hand, children need also to experience a few knocks and grazes if they are to learn how to survive in the years ahead. They have to learn that life can be tough and they have to understand that often, there can be only one winner and the best lesson is how to lose – and to bounce back. The wide world is not going to mollycoddle them. That can be a shock if they’ve been kept in cotton wool.

Parents are complaining about a steep slide at a Pacific Pines park. If it is too risky for little kids, then surely parents have to step in and say no. But for older kids, there are lessons to be learned in how to slide down safely. If they lose a bit of bark and eat a bit of dirt, that’s part of the process.