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Accidents happen to intelligent people too. Parents know you need eyes in the back of your head with kids. But sure keep on bleating on about how stupid people are if it makes you feel better.
I mean, what's the solution to all these stupid people, would you like a culling perhaps?
****s sake, didn't know they'd had to closed the Blue Lake, due to asshats.
As for these parents, again just more asshats
Accidents happen to intelligent people too.
Yep, but it is not to do with intelligence it is to do with looking to blame someone/something else instead of just accepting that the correct care was not taken.
I mean, what’s the solution to all these stupid people, would you like a culling perhaps?
I share your (presumed) distaste for the general "get these idiots out of the countryside" vibe we're seeing in recent months.
Outdoor recreation is predominantly a middle-class thing, so it's almost like we don't want "the wrong sort of people" doing it.
There's been a bit of a failure on the part of NPAs and similar to pivot from "stay out of the Lakes" (just to pick a not entirely random example) to "here's how to visit safely, where to park etc".
sirromj
Accidents happen to intelligent people too. Parents know you need eyes in the back of your head with kids. But sure keep on bleating on about how stupid people are if it makes you feel better
I've had one of my kids fall off the scramble route of Schehallion. He was rushing past a brother, slipped and slipped/rolled about 4m down onto a ledge. He ended up half on the ledge, both legs over the edge with a significantly bigger drop. I rescued the lad, then spent a few hours over the next few days alternating between remonstrating with myself, telling him how close he had been, thinking how I would do things differently in future, and thinking 'but that's the risk we choose to take'.
My issue with the parents in this story is that they immediately went back to seek blame elsewhere and clearly approached the press. I suggest this is at the cost of not learning from any mistakes through denying thier own responsibility. I also suggest that stories like this further the risk-averse and blame culture so many folk seem to take.
Good risk management goes beyond a system (more signs = problem solved) and becomes a cultural thing we all engage in and have skills in.
I don't think they are stupid, I think they've not had the education and experiences they need.
As someone involved in outdoor learning, I'm soul searching at the moment about a few issues. Risk aversion / lack of skills and the dirty campers we are seeing around the country. I feel that the learning an experiences they've had have failed them - and want to work out what I do differently to get a different outcome.
I hope that this family continue to head outdoors, it's great for them and the child. Sadly reading between the lines this may put them off - despite their children facing much more likely and impactful risks.
Related, it's worth a read of this book.
I guess I just feel more sympathetic toward the parents that most of the posters on here. Maybe giving them too much benefit of the doubt. I expect it was an intense & emotional experience, maybe they just reacted and the advise was to take the route they took. I don't think it's too difficult to imagine after an experience such as this not wanting it to happen to another child.
That book is available as a PDF btw: https://rethinkingchildhood.com/no-fear/
I'll have a look at it, ta.
Went to the Blue lake a few years ago, before I became a parent. Scary place for a non swimmer! Didn't think the water was safe to swim in due to algae?
Parents know you need eyes in the back of your head with kids.
Humans don't actually have eyes in the back of their heads, though.
That is why the parents should have been watching closely and probably have the kid within reach and always be making sure they were between the kid and the water. Even more so if she is what chavs tend call 'spirited'.
This stuff is not difficult.