Man charged with child abuse after driving kids in back hoe

[gladehound]

All's well until the person coming up behind you has a medical emergency or has been drinking enough or doing enough drugs to not notice your tractor's speed is significantly slower than his vehicle's speed.

These practices are much less risky than things people do routinely without thought - like halloweening by the common method of walking, riding a bike, or many common sports.

To each his own. However, keep in mind that we cannot control all of life. Anyone can die of a number of things without a moments notice. It would be a shame not to have lived first.

 

[Mace Canute]

These practices are much less risky than things people do routinely without thought - like halloweening by the common method of walking, riding a bike, or many common sports.

To each his own. However, keep in mind that we cannot control all of life. Anyone can die of a number of things without a moments notice. It would be a shame not to have lived first.

I agree but I also think that one can make an effort to live in less life threatening ways while still enjoying the moment. Just as an example, while the kids might really enjoy riding on the tph carry all, I suspect they would enjoy riding on it just as much around the yard as on the road with none of the risks being on the road involves and riding in a car is safer than riding on the tph carry all if the worst should happen. One way they live to enjoy another day, the other they don't.

Kids have no idea of consequences but responsible adults do.

 

[gladehound]

Thanks for your input. What are your thoughts on taking them skiing off piste through the woods with unmarked obsticles and cliffs?

 

[slow84ta]

phew, oh man

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think the guy was way over the line, especially considering the suspended license and 45 mph speed limit/public road. He deserves some sort of punishment to get his attention in my opinion.

One of the riskiest things I remember was getting into grain wagons while the combine was filling them. About 4 or 5 of us kids, aged 5 years to 12 years would hang by our hands from the top of the wagon until the corn was up to our necks. Then we'd all struggle to get free and climb out. More than one time one of the younger kids would lose their grip and slide to the bottom only to be "rescued" by one of the older kids.

My dad would drag us down the road behind his jeep on a homemade sled for miles at a time back in the 70's. Traffic was as rare as hen's teeth on those roads back then.

Kevin

 

[Mace Canute]

Thanks for your input. What are your thoughts on taking them skiing off piste through the woods with unmarked obsticles and cliffs?

I had to Google "off piste". Wiki says it's

Increasingly, North Americans employ its common European antonym, 'off piste', to describe backcountry skiing, especially when referring to skiing outside officially approved areas of a ski resort.

Obviously off piste covers very divergent conditions and with that would be matching degrees of hazard. There's a world of difference between deliberately going into a known and high risk avalanche area compared to gently rolling countryside and I would view each instance with that in mind.

 

[shadetree]

Ever seen a farm tractor over run by an 18 wheeler? How about a lowly pickup truck?

Ride your child with you while you mow your lawn? Or even have them in the yard while mowing? THINK.
Sound of a mower destroys the little hairs in the ear that you need to hear when you get old (and before).
Sticks and stones may break some bones or even kill if thrown by a mower. THINK.

 

[gladehound]

If a youth isn't supposed to be anywhere around a mower, then how does a young person learn to safely operate one? I'm completely in agreement with taking safety precautions and not taking risk for no reason. However, I can relate to previous posts that suggest that today's young adults are dangers to themselves and others because they never learned any common sense.

By 9 years old I could drive anything with wheels. At 11 I had my own shot gun leaning against the wall in my bedroom with my amunition on the shelf next to it. My father did these things at even younger ages. Every kid is different. But when a kid is ready to take on responsibility they should be taught and when ready, given responsibility.

I was reading "little house on the prairie" to my children last year and at one point "Ma" and "Pa" were out and Laura was left at home (I believe she was 9 years old) with her sisters. In the book she said it was OK because Pa's gun was leaning against the wall and all the girls knew how to use it if necessary. By this point in her life she also knew how to do just about everything that her parents did.

Each generation we become more brain washed that we can't actually do anything and we become less capable in the process. By the time kids are 12 or 13 years old they are acting out because they've never learned and never been given responsibility. By 12 or 13 some are biologically ready to be out on their own! It's not natural to be coddled until you're 18yo, or 21 yo, or 35 yo!

Today, I wonder how many people think it would be OK to leave a 9 yr old alone at home with a loaded gun? Honestly, it should only depend on if the 9 year old is ready for that. After all, I've met 9 year olds with more sense than most adults. However, all the youths I've met who are highly responsible have parents that take the time to teach them and then give them responsibility as they are ready.

BTW - my road doesn't have 18 wheelers on it. Max speed is 25 mph and you'd be hard pressed to exceed it much due to the sharp, frequent turns. Differential speed between a tractor and a car / truck is minimal.

 

[bdog]

My kids don't ride in the bucket but I let my four year old run the backhoe.

https://youtu.be/Q7XCxnLcG1A

 

[Capricious]

Posted this photo from Craigslist some time ago: