Now a legal suit waiting to happen
“Hi, and welcome to Lisa’s Tobogganing Farm. I’m your guide, Ethan, and I’ll be supervising your stay today. Once you’ve all signed these waivers, please continue on to the helmet fitting room to secure the appropriate headgear. You may then proceed to the foam-padding gate before selecting your government-approved sledding vessel.”
It sounds like a scene out of a helicopter parent’s biography, but it really reflects the direction in which society is heading when it comes to hobbies traditionally viewed for decades as harmless fun. With lawsuits popping up over absurd occurrences like tripping down stairs, collectives – whether businesses, organizations, or even municipalities – have been essentially forced into covering their butts from all possible angles. Unfortunately, this is not a fool-proof measure and benefits absolutely no one in the long run. In fact, I think if anything, these types of actions attract fools like mice to cheese.
Tobogganing was once a fun activity to do in the winter months, but has caught some negative attention lately – should it be banned? Photo Courtesy Jerry Bowley via CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
Municipalities, like Orangeville, have faced the recent wrath of citizens who strongly oppose a suggested tobogganing ban. I wholeheartedly agree with these citizens, but, ironically, it isn’t the municipalities that I feel are to be blamed. Those truly at fault in these ridiculous situations are the self-deflecting fools who do their best to get money from others to finance the common sense they apparently lack. This is true whether it is a lawsuit regarding a fall, a tobogganing injury, or any other similar mishap.
Yes, there are inherent dangers associated with tobogganing. Of course there are! There are also many risks taken in crossing the street, riding the bus, sitting in the classroom, and laying in bed. While danger may be higher in some situations than others, we have to look at it in perspective. Eliminating the hazards of all activities is impossible – that shouldn’t mean that we consequently eliminate all activities.
I’ll tell you something. When I was a child, I tobogganed, rode horses, climbed trees, and – gasp – played Grounder. Sometimes I got hurt. Sometimes my friends did. But my parents allowed it to continue because they took appropriate precautions. Keyword “appropriate.” There is a difference between ensuring you wear a helmet while horseback riding and prohibiting any event that involves going down hills. I can bet you my darndest that if I broke a bone falling off my bike, my folks wouldn’t be suing the city for “negligence’’ because of the sidewalk.
Kids today face an obesity epidemic in a world that is also plagued by starvation. Part of this can be attributed to the copious amount of technology we shove down their throats all day (but that is another topic entirely). Another part of it is that we, however unknowingly, discourage the physical activity that (thank God) was still permitted when I was a child. We’re consumed with fear if our children ride anything with wheels. We pace anxiously when they’re not within a 20-foot radius of our homes, and we are more at ease as they sit on their computer than we are as they play tag with the neighbours. If we want our children to be happy, healthy, and functioning, we cannot seek to shelter them from all harm – whether physical or emotional. That does them no favours.
The figures involved in decisions that result in a win for frivolous lawsuits are the real danger now. In retrospect, we see that what is permitted freely in society has slowly shrunk as groups avoid financial litigation by simply eliminating any activity that carries a morsel of risk. As a citizen grateful to live among the most liberated of nations, I hold strong resentment towards the huge changes that have already occured in my two-odd decades. I have lost count of the number of restrictions that have altered my youthhood, even from those of my younger sister.
I have two very young siblings who are not yet even able to speak in sentences. It is a serious concern of mine that, by the time they are at a suitable age to enjoy glorious activities like tobogganing, outdoor activities will no longer be an option. This isn’t just about tobogganing or lawsuits or safety. This is about how true childhoods are not only changing, but disappearing. Is that really what we want?