DEAR Agnes, my son's friend came to visit and I suggested they ride their scooters.
Little Johnny said he couldn't go as he hadn't brought his helmet and he didn't want a policeman to arrest him.
Is it really true it's now law to wear a helmet while on a child's scooter?
I let my children climb trees and drive the paddock bomb. Am I a bad mother?
Paranoid Pam, Penola
Dear Pam,
Aaah yes, where would we be without lawyers - sorry, I mean health and safety experts - to tell us what dangers lurk in toys and playground equipment.
It's true. Riding scooters is now officially on the list of dangerous pastimes requiring the wearing of approved safety equipment.
Thank goodness for litigation - sorry, I meant risk analysis - or we will have never known how hazardous play time is for kids.
Nowadays, for most activities, you must first do a course, get a certificate and kit yourself out from head to foot in Kevlar and padding.
In our day, playgrounds were fun and had proper equipment such as monkey bars and that whizzy round thing. We'd wind it up to Mach 2 and launch Timmy Muldoon to see how far he'd fly. OK, maybe that was a bit risky.
We fell, crashed, bumped our heads and skinned our knees and elbows until we learned how not to.
Sometimes I wonder if the biggest "danger" in the play ground is being sued by over anxious parents because Johnny tripped over a gum nut.
As for your kids climbing trees and driving the paddock bomb, I wouldn't worry too much.
Just make sure they've done a course and got a certificate - and signed a no-liability waiver form.
Agnes
