Long Island school bans fun at recess

[Martok]

Just about, anyway  Seriously, this is a new level of ridiculous. 

Worries about injuries at a Long Island school have led to a surprising ban.

As CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported Monday, officials at Weber Middle School in Port Washington are worried that students are getting hurt during recess. Thus, they have instituted a ban on footballs, baseballs, lacrosse balls, or anything that might hurt someone on school grounds.

Tossing a football during recess has long seemed to be a rite of passage for kids in the school community.

"I think we need the soccer balls, the footballs and everything, so we can have some fun," one student said.

But the students will have no such option anymore. They were just informed that during recess, football is out and Nerf ball is in. Hard soccer balls have been banned, along with baseballs and lacrosse balls, rough games of tag, or cartwheels unless supervised by a coach.

Students were not thrilled about the news.

"Cartwheels and tag — I think it's ridiculous they are banning that," one said.

"You go for recess — that's your free time to go let loose and recharge," another said.

"That's all we want to do," a third student said. "We're in school all day sitting behind the desk learning."

But Port Washington schools Supt. Kathleen Maloney said the change in policy is warranted due to a rash of playground injuries.

"Some of these injuries can unintentionally become very serious, so we want to make sure our children have fun, but are also protected," Maloney said.

Without helmets and pads, children are much more susceptible to getting hurt, experts said.

Long Island Jewish Medical Center emergency room director Dr. Salvatore Pardo said he has been seeing "head injuries, bumps, scrapes; worried about concussions."

But some parents said it is really about liability and lawsuits.

"Children's safety is paramount, but at the same time, you have to let them live life," said Port Washington parent Ellen Cohen.

Several districts from outside Long Island are already contacting Nassau County educators. Soon, additional schools may be jumping on the banning balls bandwagon.

The Port Washington district said the softer foam balls put students in the best situation to cut down the chance of getting injured.

[Greybriar]

That sounds like a school for wimps. But I bet those measures were taken to lessen the chances of getting sued by the parents of an injured student.

[Martok]

Oh, I've no doubt that's the main reason why.  It still makes me sad, though. 

[BanzaiCat]

And after those "parents" pick their "little blessings" up from school, they take them over to "fun for all soccer" where nobody keeps score, make them take their Ritalin and no less than three other prescription drugs, laugh it off when the little monster puts an Xbox controller through their HD TV, then let him stay up late because you have to "pick your battles" - but won't let him stay up past 11 because then he'll earn "time out points."

Rage...building...

[Arctic Blast]

And after those "parents" pick their "little blessings" up from school, they take them over to "fun for all soccer" where nobody keeps score, make them take their Ritalin and no less than three other prescription drugs, laugh it off when the little monster puts an Xbox controller through their HD TV, then let him stay up late because you have to "pick your battles" - but won't let him stay up past 11 because then he'll earn "time out points."

Rage...building...

Pretty much this. A friend of mine and his wife do a lot of this nonsense, then they wonder out loud why it takes 3+ hours for them to get the kids to go to bed at night... ::)

[Nefaro]

More of what I call, "Lawn Dart Legislation". 

Perhaps the state of NY will make it official, some time in the future.  Nerf balls, nerf bats, nerf cars, nerf power tools.  Nerf it all and put everyone in padded cells?   ::)

[Staggerwing]

My take on all this is that if parents would take some time and effort to keep their kids from becoming little sociopaths due to lack of clear ethical guidelines and proper role modeling then school systems wouldn't be forced to decree 'danger-free' play zones. It's easy to blame a local school for thinking it has to act 'in loco parentis' (sp?) but a lot harder to get in the face of some a-hole mom or dad in the supermarket and tell them that they need to gain control of their kids before someone (probably their own progeny) gets hurt.

Some of these so-called school bureaucrats really are risk-averse ass-coverers but others have more genuine concern for the children that go to their schools than the parents do.

[Gusington]

Long Island is a far cry from the part of NY I live in. Because of my proximity to USMA both of my daughters will probably have bayonet training next week and get sized for ghillie suits :)