What's wrong with parents these days? (1 Viewer)

[StephenA]

I've been lighting off fireworks since I was 6. When I was a young kid, I was showed exactly how to do it safely, and was only allowed to have them on the 4th with adult supervision. I never blew any fingers off, injured myself or others, never started fires with them, or whatever else. I was taught how to use them properly and was taught to respect them, while never using them unless I had adult supervision.

The parents that the original poster posted about are careless and thoughtless. Stupid people they are to get drunk while letting their children light off explosives unsupervised. Of course if they're gonna be careless and thoughtless, let them pay the consequences. We can't change the way they are, only they can. And they have to be willing to, whether they are scared into it, or grow up and see the errors of their ways.

It's very strange that it's more well known these days that alot of kids have to raise themselves, with having bad parents and all. It's very hard and confusing, especially in this day and age to be raising yourself. When I was a kid, I don't remember anyone talking about this kind of stuff, but now I hear about it all the time. We all knew in our neighborhood how a couple were with their kids, but it was rarely if ever talked about.

 

[MikeAlletto]

I hope you're joking, Mike! Your last reply didn't make any sense. Would you really let your kids smoke at 11 just because they want to? I hope not, for their sake!

The question wasn't about my kids. It was about someone elses. Of course if I had kids they wouldn't be smoking. But someone elses? I don't care what they do, its their kids. As long as they don't bother me they can do whatever they want.

 

[Mary M S]

A quick scan of this thread seems to indicate that adults posting here who had carefully supervised use of fireworks while growing up, tend to support its continuation with their children, while those who ‘never’ feel children should live without it, (with one exception).

I think the 4th as Halloween, has evolved into a fading tradition that has had to be regulated, revamped, and sanitized due to modern concerns which sadden me, with sort of a “the good ole days” nostalgia.
A woman & her husband I worked for years ago would remark with the most scathing of rants about the insanity of people ‘choosing’ to go snow skiing, due to the ‘possibility’ of injury.

I’ve seen more examples set by drunken adults which have curtailed and caused the legislation of many pleasures from our past. It seems to be that lack of common sense and moderation in humans more than the inherent risks of certain activities is what is slowly curtailing many of our previously unregulated rights to certain experiences.

I was in the supervised crowd; some of my most wonderful exciting breathtaking memories of growing up are centered on 4th of July cookouts at the Grandparents. Where my Father & Grandfather were in complete control of the pyrotechnics light/noise show of the evening. Age approximate restrictions where applied to each category of fireworks. The little un’s held sparklers, then learned to light their own, then graduated to a Grandfather’s shadow hovering over their bottle rocket launches.

I can’t watch “The Natural” when the Spotlights are sparking and exploding (or any Movie Scene like it), without a warm fuzzy feeling reminding me of how exciting the sound of the 4th was drowning out the cicadas. Memories of the squeals and laughter of adults and children in a family backyard and the taste of your Grandmothers hand cranked homemade ice cream on a hot summer night.

In our large extended family we have been able to move the long years of family tradition out to my Sisters lake house where this activity is still legal. Its amazing how fireworks transforms even our jaded teenagers, yawing at another obligatory family function, into giggling kids again. I wouldn’t miss it for the world, unfortunately by the time I am old enough to be a grandmother, I will probably never get to ‘celebrate’ this family night with the next generations of awed and delighted children.

 

[Leila Dougan]

The question wasn't about my kids. It was about someone elses. Of course if I had kids they wouldn't be smoking. But someone elses? I don't care what they do, its their kids. As long as they don't bother me they can do whatever they want.

It absolutely does matter. You think the person who lets their child smoke at age 11 is going to have enough sense to pay for medical care when they develop lung cancer? How about the kids with the firecrackers that aren't being supervised. . do you think those drunk parents on the porch have saved enough money for the costly reconstructive surgery?
And for parents who let their children do asinine things it absolutely IS my business. If they plan on ever being able to receive any sort of public assistance, especially help with medical bills, I, the TAXPAYER, should have somewhat of a say on how the money gets spent. Of course it doesn't work that way. But for people to blindly turn around and ignore everything around them simply because a few folks figured out how to put tab A into slot B is ridiculous.

 

[Jose Arellano]

I am almost always a lurker on this board, and post only when I need information, but.....WOW!
As a parent myself, I know I will allow my daughter and future kids to play with fireworks. I, of course, will supervise them and teach them the right way and the safe way to do so. I am amazed by the people who say this is wrong, and that they take it as an insult that some parents will allow their kids to have fun and not be overprotected at every turn. You cannot stop kids from being kids.
Fireworks are illegal in certain places because they pose a fire danger in the city or a public nuisance to passing cars, etc. If used properly, fireworks could be used in any city safely, but due to a bunch of people who lack common sense, these laws are in place. You cannot compare this to an 11 year old kid smoking because that is illegal EVERYWHERE, not just inside the city limits. There is a difference, and I hope you can see it.
To those saying that it costs taxpayers money to reconstruct a kids hand when he blows it off, gimme a break! Your taxpayer money is being used, one way or the other, and don't tell me that the amount spent by taxpayers every year, on all firework accidents combined, is more that one one hundredth of a cent from each taxpayer. Even the "safest" things can be dangerous: swimming, swinging from a tree tire, playing at a playground, organized sports, riding a horse, or playing with a friendly dog. Should we outlaw ALL these things because there might be an accident, or someone can do something stupid that will make them get hurt so our tax money isn't used for it? As respectfully as I can say it, that argument is stupid.
People need to learn to be safe, and they must also teach their kids the same way. Outlawing stupidity, if there was a way to do it, would be the only way to stop most of these "accidents". Some accidents happen regardless, no matter how safe you are. You can't insulate your kids from the world. Although I don't have the data readily available to back me up, I'm willing to bet that kids that are sheltered by their parents and act out to "show them" cause more trouble in their teenage years than those that have set limits and are allowed to make their own decisions occasionally.
Didn't mean to make this a lenghty post, but wow! Sorry if I got carried away.

 

[Luis Esp]

Well here in Toronto, the police just charged a man for leaving his two kids, a boy of 4 and a girl of 3, in a parked car with the windows rolled up, outside in 31 degrees celsius weather, with the inside of the car reaching over 100 degrees fahrenheit, while he spent over 20 minutes...
IN AN ADULT BOOKSTORE!

 

[Leila Dougan]

People need to learn to be safe, and they must also teach their kids the same way. Outlawing stupidity, if there was a way to do it, would be the only way to stop most of these "accidents". Some accidents happen regardless, no matter how safe you are. You can't insulate your kids from the world. Although I don't have the data readily available to back me up, I'm willing to bet that kids that are sheltered by their parents and act out to "show them" cause more trouble in their teenage years than those that have set limits and are allowed to make their own decisions occasionally.

Jose, you are absolutely correct. If you noticed, I said "unsupervised" in my post. If you are planning in educating your children and make sure they understand how to use fireworks correctly, then I fully support you. Its the people who don't bother with their kids and let them do whatever they want to do, however incorrect it may be, that gets to me.

No, you cannot watch kids at every moment and denying them fun would be cruel. But parents need to act as mentors and guide their children, not let them be babysat by explosives. The only thing you can really do is show them how to do things as safely as possible and trust that they'll learn and make the right decision. That is being responsible, not sitting on the porch drinking with your buddies not paying one ounce of attention to your 7 year old in the street playing with fireworks.

And no, I know that tax money is going to all sorts of things I don't approve of. That's life in this country. I also know that fireworks accidents probably aren't anywhere on the chart as far as accidents go. And accidents are just that, accidents. But in GENERAL, a lot of it can be prevented by people who take the time to be with their kids and guide them growing up.

 

[Ryan Wright]

Quote:

It doesn't matter where he was. The fact is he endangered his children. Whether he was buying groceries or smut makes precious little difference.

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I think that I would rather parents teach their kids how to properly use fireworks and supervise them than just let them play with them without supervision and no instruction. Then again, I think the parents should be the ones dealing with the more dangerous fireworks and leave the kids with sparklers.

 

[Jerry Almeida]

Paul,
When I brought up the comparison between smoking and fireworks, I wasn’t referring to the legality of either. Only that they are both dangerous practices, although I’m sure someone can argue that as well.

Danny/Ryan,
When I said I had a problem understanding the mentality of , “I used to play with them so it’s ok for other kids to play with them”. I was referring to the many comments of, shooting bottle rockets and roman candles at each other and having ‘wars’ with them. To take the attitude of, “that’s what I used to do and it was cool, so it’s cool if other kids do it” doesn’t sit right with me.

However Ryan, I don’t agree with the statement, “there is nothing inherently wrong nor dangerous about fireworks when proper precautions are taken”. No matter how supervised or educated you are, it’s still fire and explosions. Those are two inherently dangerous things in my book.

 

[MikeAlletto]

No matter how supervised or educated you are, it’s still fire and explosions. Those are two inherently dangerous things in my book.

Ughhh...fire...bad...

Just getting up out of bed and taking a shower is dangerous. Putting a poptart in the toaster is dangerous. Boiling water in the microwave is dangerous. EVERYTHING in this world is dangerous. Just saying that someone shouldn't be doing something because its dangerous is not a good excuse.

 

[Leila Dougan]

Mike, just because everything is dangerous does not mean that some things are not more dangerous than others.

 

[Tim Kilbride]

Hey guys...I hate to beat a dead horse, but all the things you guys have stated as dangerous (climbing trees, taking shower, smoking, skiing, etc.) are to the best of my knowledge, still legal. The whole issue to me is that some parents condone their kids doing things illegal just because 'they did it when they were young' or because we taught them how to do it the 'right' way is crap. I'm sure there are lot of guys here who hunt. They own and shoot guns, safely I might add. However, here in New Orleans, on New Years Eve and July 4th, it has become a huge problem of people firing off guns into the air. The local police can't really differentiate between fireworks and gunfire, unless some reports it. The problem is that in the last few years, people have been killed by 'Falling Bullets'. Again, these people who fire the guns, are not thinking past the fact the bullets go up...but where do they come down? It is for this reason firing a weapon in city limits is illegal. If it was someone close to you that got hit by a falling bullet, you would feel differently.

Just for the record, I am an novice gun collector and enjoy shooting in the woods and at the range as much and as often as I can...

Tim K.

 

[Ryan Wright]

No matter how supervised or educated you are, it’s still fire and explosions. Those are two inherently dangerous things in my book.

They are only dangerous if not handled properly. Handled properly, they're no more dangerous than any other everyday activity (such as cooking food or driving a car).

 

[Jerry Almeida]

Wow! I'll probably get blasted for being an "over protective" parent, but I don't know if I agree with that.

When it comes to my child I don't think it's a bad thing to err on the side of caution. But maybe that's just me

 

[Gordon C Jr]

Tim,

Thank you for reiterating my concern.

Everyone here seems to be concerned over safety (which is understandable) and to combat this, everyone is suggesting to teach a child the proper way of lighting a firecracker. This is a very good idea, except, what is the proper way to light an ILLEGAL firecracker in a declared ILLEGAL vicinity or city. To me, there is none. I would never teach my child how to do any illegal activity correctly. This is a little off the wall, but would you teach you child how to use a bong correctly or how to drive 70 in a 55mph. I doubt it. What the original post stated is that these parents were semi-supervising their kids performing an illegal activity and in my book this is never right.

I also think this threads difference of opinion is directly related to what state you are in and how much government control over fireworks are in place. Here in California, we have to find an acceptable city to even light a ground bloom flower. Really sad.

 

[RobertR]

I would never teach my child how to do any illegal activity correctly.

If I were a black parent in a certain time and place, I would teach my child to read. If I were a Jewish parent in a certain time and place, I would take my child to safety. These activities were illegal in certain times and places. That doesn't make them wrong.

 

[Ron-P]

I played with fireworks as far back as I can remember, mostly taking them apart and building super-fireworks. Home made mortar's, rockets (anyone remember the Este-model rocket engines?), home-made napalm, M-80's...all sorts of fun stuff.
Don't do it as much anymore though. Well, except when we go out to the desert. No one around, yeah, we blow-up pretty much everything. Ever strap a road flare to a propane can and then shoot it. Talk about a fire-ball
Ok, go ahead, I've got my flame suit on. Life would be boring without fireworks and explosives.
Peace Out~

 

[Jeremiah]

I bet if we read in the paper tommarrow that a 7 year old burned themselves or blew their finger off by playing with fireworks b/c their parents were partying and not paying attention to what their child was doing than we would all be saying what kind of freaking idiots the parents were. Right?

 

[RobertR]

their parents were partying and not paying attention to what their child was doing than we would all be saying what kind of freaking idiots the parents were. Right?

Right. But not because of the use of fireworks per se. It would because the parents were irresponsible.