By Jon Filson
The real threat to kids today is chairs. Ontario’s chief coroner Dr. James Cairns has declared that chairs — old reclining chairs to be exact — are dangerous to kids. He’s concerned that young children can get their heads caught in the space between the footrest and the seat and suffocate.
He does have a Canadian case to back up his concerns: last year such a tragedy happened in Ontario when a 19-month-old child was killed.
It is hard not to feel sympathy for the family. But it is tough to accept that Grandpa’s recliner may reach out and start snatching children. Surely, there are greater evils in the world.
However, Ontario’s coroner thinks children should not be left unattended with one of those reclining chairs.
That advice often gets handed out to parents: you should never leave your child unattended. It is good advice, except if you follow it. Your kids have to get out on their own sometime.
And your child might turn into the schoolyard bully or could get victimized by one. She’s going to turn on the Internet at some point when you’re not around and there are going to be sexual predators online with her too. You might send her off to Girl Guides or him off to Boy Scouts, and by the time he or she hits puberty — if not before —both boys and girls are going to be taught about sex, either by you, or by your child’s school.
There are dangers inherent to all these situations for kids. Every screening process has its flaws. Bullies are an age-old schoolyard problem and the cops say they’re getting worse. Sex education is a dicey subject at the best of times. And as the medium of the future, the Internet is unavoidable.
There is no 100-per-cent way to ensure kids grow up safe, this is true and always has been true. So what is an anguished parent to do?
“I think the most important thing is keeping the lines of communication open – that goes for anything,” says Elaine Goraj, the director of Stay-Alert Safe, a child safety advocacy group.
Goraj’s point might seem a little simple. But there is, after all, only so much a parent can do in a world where chairs can do serious harm to your child.
There are dangers, but they must be kept in perspective as well. Kids are often more resilient than we think. Let us take some solace in the fact that there are so many adults in the world.
That means that a lot of kids make it through the trials and tribulations of being a child.
They adapt. They overcome. And they grow up.