Safety First?

OK, I admit it ... I am a bad mom. Why am I a bad mom? Well, for starters I do not believe in helmets. You know, helmets? Those things that you see toddlers wearing that look straight out of a Roswell museum while they are riding in circles on their Big Wheels in their driveways?
I rode my bike everywhere as a kid. Every day. When I was small we rode up and down our driveway and around the block. To the neighbors house. Anywhere that Mom said, "yes."
As a teen I rode to friends' houses, babysitting jobs, to town with friends, and probably some places that I should not have ridden, as well.
We raced our bikes. We crashed our bikes. With every crash, yes, there was an injury of some sort. Some injuries were worse than others, I admit. But 100% of my injuries occurred below my chin. I have scars on my shoulders, elbows, hands and legs to prove my bike-riding experiences. Never once did I don a helmet, or knee pad or elbow pad. Never once did my Mom say, "You want to ride on the driveway? Better put your safety gear on!" What she did say was, "Please get out of my hair and go ride your bike with your friends."
We learned lessons about bike safety from the mistakes that we made. For instance, when my sister had her jacket wrapped around her waist and then went on a bike ride, we learned that the arms can get wrapped around a tire and cause you to fall (and ruin your jacket). Hence, he didn't ride with jackets tied around our waists.
We also saw a friend wear her sandals on her bike and slip off, causing the skin on her toes to virtually disappear (just writing this makes my skin crawl). So, we learned to always wear closed toe shoes when we rode.
I look back on my wipe-outs (yes, there were many memorable ones) and all of them destroyed my hands. I always fell on my hands .... only a fool would let their head hit the ground. Instead, they instinctively threw their hands out to stop their fall. I always remember a line from the movie, Karate Kid. Mr Miyagi is coming to fix the sink in Daniel's apartment and Daniel is practicing his karate with the shiner he received the night before from Johnny. Mr Miyagi comments on the eye and Daniel responds, "Oh yea, I fell off my bike." Mr Miyagi shrugs and says, "Ha. Lucky no hurt hand."
Wow ... dead on Mr Miyagi!!!!
I totally get the people who wear helmets when they are riding in the street, or mountain biking. I totally get having kids wear helmets when they are doing so as well. But, what I do not get are the people that put these things on for their children to ride at a snails pace, in circles, in their flippin driveways! Really????? I wonder what they will do when their kids go out for football? Wrap them in foam? Or wait, if their child takes up running, will they have to wear knee pads, elbow pads, hand guards and a mouth guard? How about when they start kissing girls? Will they have to wear a condom when they leave the house in case they get premature hard-ons????
Seriously? Could we please let our children be children?? Kids have to hurt themselves to learn how to not hurt themselves. If you pad the corners of your coffee table, do you really think that once they are 3 and they run into the un-padded coffee table, they should know better? Nope, they will think all coffee table corners are soft. And all outlets have covers, toilets have locks, no doorknobs turn, falling off of a bike doesn't hurt, etc, etc, etc.
Kids need scars. Kids need to know how to fall so as to not hurt themselves!
Teach your children why they shouldn't run near a coffee table, or stick a key into the outlet, or how to put their hands out in front of them when they are riding in the driveway and their bike falls over.
I just don't get it. Really, I don't. And, I am sure some people think I am a bad mom. OK. Fine. Think I am a bad Mom. But, I think you worry about your kids a bit too much sometimes; to the point of making them all weak and inept. So there.
I will continue to be a bad Mom ..... I will get my son a helmet when he truly needs one ... when the training wheels are gone and his paths are bumpy and far. But for now, you will know my house. It is the one where the kids are in the driveway with jackets on, tennis shoes tied and their hair blowing in the wind while they are riding around on their Big Wheels!