Say Goodbye to Games at Summercamp

Here is the deal; last night I was browsing through news stories when one in particular caught my eye. The title implied something so ridiculous that I thought it had to be a joke but lo and behold it was no joke.  So without further ado here is the latest of “dumbest ideas I have ever head”, a list that is starting to get alarmingly long by the way.

Picture this summer camp, a place where children gather together to make new friends, spend time with old ones, spend nights in cabins, and fully enjoy being outdoors. It’s a perfect place for those young thrill seekers to get their adventure fix. But wait… we have a problem because a significant part of summer camp is being deemed too dangerous. Can you guess what it is? That’s right the games.

I couldn’t believe it when I first heard it either but apparently New York State bureaucrats are saying games like Freeze Tag, Red Rover, Kick Ball, Wiffle Ball and Dodge Ball pose a significant risk of injury. News flash so does getting out of bed every morning and yet it is a daily part of life. With these games being deemed dangerous a new law has been passed that any summer program that offers at least one of these risky games is subject to state regulation which includes a $200 dollar registration fee and on site medical staff. A little extreme don’t you think?

I think its extreme, ridiculous and most of all stupid. I grew up playing all these games, sure there was a risk but I never got seriously injured from playing them. You know what I did get? Enjoyment and happiness. I still remember playing these games in both grade school and summer camps. I would get to spend more time with all my friends, I could play and be free, and I got good exercise. It was just a wonderful and fun experience; one that I still hold with me to this day and now the government wants to take that away from the new generation.

It looks like someone needs to remind the government that one of the biggest problems this country is facing is obesity in children. They have already altered physical education in high school and now they are going to greatly reduce in when the kids are younger. What are they trying to do? According to the news stories they are putting laws in place to outlaw free play. Are they high? What’s next, a law to outlaw video games because the kids might hurt their thumbs on the controllers? Its madness I tell you, total and complete madness.

But it isn’t just the obesity issue, this affects so much more than that. The world can be a very cruel place and these games build kids up for facing the real world someday. Some people may think of them as just being games but they aren’t. They teach children teamwork, and how to be strong.  It’s alright for a child to come home with bruises and cuts and scrapes, in fact it will do them more good than harm. For whatever reason it seems like the new thing is overly babying the new generation, taking everything away that could potentially harm or scare them. Don’t you know that by doing that you’re setting them up for failure?

You want your children to be able to face any problem that comes their way, you want to have confidence that they will be alright once you’re gone, that they can take care of themselves.  When I was young I lived in a forest so I was always getting into trouble; falling down the hills, getting chased by the neighbors dogs, and climbing trees. I used to walk through that entire 4 acre forest barefoot and I could run through there like it was nothing. I came back home with all manner of cuts and bruises but I was tough. My parents loved me but they knew that it was good for me to go through that and they were right. I know now that if I hadn’t gone through what I did then I wouldn’t have been able to get through some of the hardest moments of my life.

It’s wrong for them to take these experiences and lessons away from these kids because in the process they are taking away valuable memories and some of their tools for survival. Remember a risk equals a reward. It’s better to risk a few injuries and come out on top with the skills the kids will learn from these games. I say we let these kids enjoy their childhood and prepare for their adulthood by playing these games and put an end to these ridiculous laws.