No more running for Dick and Jane

I'm sure most of us have at least heard of the Dick,and Jane books or may have even read them even if they were way before my time I have still read a few of them. They had very simple reading See Dick run, run Dick run. See Jane Run. run Jane run, but it seems school has changed since Dick,and Jane were around. In today's society of correctness,and over protection they would not be able to run anymore. Willett Elementary School in Attleboro Massachusetts has now banned tag, as well as touch football,and other unsupervised chasing games. http://www.wgal.com/news/10102602/detail.html all I can say is what in the fricking hell! From one point I do understand that the school is afraid that they could get sued, and that to is part of the problem. We've become so damn sue happy in this country, also the school could avoid that with permission slips. Isn't that sad that in today's day,and age we have to get a permission slip signed to let our kids play tag. TAG FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! They're not talking about full contact Football they're talking about tag, and touch football. I'm not that old,but when I was in school at recess we'd play a game called smear. Which meant whoever had the football everyone tried to tackle. One kid running while 30 other kids tried to tackle him,and when he got tackled after he got up he'd throw the ball into the air,and whoever caught it would be the next one to get smeared. In the winter time after the snowfall they would plow the snow in to a huge pile that was also the length of the school in the center of the school yard. I am not joking when I say this pile would reach 15 feet high or maybe a little more, well there was always one section set aside for kids who just wanted to play in the snow,but the rest was for playing king of the mountain. That means pushing each other down the hill then get to the bottom, climb back up, and push someone else off. We used to beat the hell out of each other playing smear, and king of the mountain,and once in a while someone would get hurt, bloody nose, black eye, kids crying....IT WAS GREAT. Now they can't even play tag. This is not the first school to do this,but it is the one that's most recent right now.One parent had this to say "she's witnessed a lot of "near collisions" between children and supports anything that makes the playground safer." Near collisions she says. Not collisions,but near collisions. I wonder if she saw a near collision while driving her kids to school if she would decide to home school them to make them safer? In my lifetime I've witnessed,and been involved in maybe close to 100 near collisions by automobiles. I think tomorrow I will go down to the D.M.V. and turn in my drivers license, I can always get a bike. NO wait I've also witnessed near collisions with bikes so I guess that's out, maybe walking, but I do seem to remember people getting ran over while walking so I guess that's out too. When will it stop? Let kids be kids, let them play games while they are still young enough to do it. Let them fall down,and skin their knee,and they will get up, and dust themselves off, and do it again. If your kid rips their pants, and gets a cut, don't call the school,and complain. Patch their pants,and put a band-aid on their cut. Let them run, jump, fall, and do all the things that kids do. Let them be care free before they have a mortgage,and a job. Protect your kids so no one can hurt them or take advantage of them, but don't take away their childhood because you don't want them to get a skinned knee or bump on their head. It's been a long time since Dick, and Jane, have been relevant but I never thought I'd see the day that we'd have to say " See Dick stare at the floor" "Stare Dick stare" or "See Jane sue the school" "Sue Jane Sue" The Angry American