Ask Amy: Grandparents’ choice to joy-ride is not safe
– Concerned Parent
Dear Concerned: My take is that these grandparents should not have your child on their property without you or your spouse being physically present.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s 2018 annual ATV report on deaths and injuries (the most recent statistics) finds “there were 81,800 ATV-related emergency department-treated injuries reported in 2018. More than a quarter of those injuries were sustained by children under 16 years old, the highest of any age group.”
The report goes on to say: “Even if a locality allows people to drive off-road vehicles on paved public roads, ATVs are not designed for that purpose. ATVs can be unwieldy on paved surfaces, and the risk of collision with a car, truck, or other vehicle is significantly higher, increasing a rider’s chances of injury or death.”
Each year in the U.S., nearly 350 children under 17 gain access to a gun and unintentionally kill or injure themselves or someone else, according to Everytown.org. Nearly 77 percent of the incidents happen inside the home.
Not only do your in-laws exhibit extremely poor judgment regarding the safety of your child (or any child), but they obviously don’t respect your very reasonable requirements.
Their behavior also puts your young child in the terrible position of doing things they are not supposed to do, and then risking rebuke by the grandparents when the child tells you about it.
Please, educate your child about gun safety!
The NRA’s guidelines for young children are simple:
“Stop! Don’t touch. Run away. Tell an adult.” (Eddieeagle.nra.org)
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