Speed Bumps

As overly cautious as we are about protecting our children these days, it’s a wonder any of us survived our own childhoods of yesteryear.  Heck, many of us probably rode home from the hospital on our moms’ laps IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE CAR (without a seat belt, no doubt)!!  All this fragility makes me wonder if our kids are missing out on some of the good old-fashioned fun that we got to experience way back when.

What started me thinking about this whole thing is the recent fascination my kids have shown over speed bumps.  They think it’s the absolute greatest thing in the world when I don’t slow all the way down before driving over them (the bumps not the kids).  They giggle and howl and hoot and holler as their little booties bounce up merely half an inch off their booster seats.  (Now, granted, I’m barely going 25 mph, but when you’re five years old, that’s practically a full-speed wheelie!)

It reminds me of when I was a kid and would ride in the very back of my dad’s mini van with the seats pulled out so we could lounge on the floor.  We would pile in with a group of my friends (totally illegal now, of course) until there was little room to move.  We would beg and plead for him to gun it over all the hills in the neighborhood so we’d spring so high up in the air that we’d bang our heads on the ceiling.  Sure it smarted a little bit, but that was completely overshadowed by the excitement of it all.  It was like our very own suburban roller coaster, and we loved every minute of the ride.

Unfortunately, though, I would likely be handcuffed and turned into DHS for such a stunt in today’s world.  Don’t get me wrong — I’m by no means advocating the abolition of seat belts.  I happen to like my children best when they aren’t flying through a windshield, thank you very much.  I’m just saying that I kinda miss some of that carefree attitude of days gone by.  Don’t you?  Just a little bit?