Frazz by Jef Mallett for September 02, 2021

Negative reinforcement at its finest.

In my day kids didn’t wear helmets, goggles, knee or shin guards and lots of time, shoes (given the option). It’s a wonder that any of us survived to procreate.

We didn’t wear them, because they didn’t make them for biking, skateboarding etc. Then again, skateboarding hadn’t evolved into what it is now either.

Most of the horse riding helmets were more likely to break your nose than protect your head.

Good motorcycle helmets are, thankfully, much, much lighter than they used to be.

HA!!!!!! Love that kid!!

Yup, never underestimate the value of a bad example.

Never take safety advice from someone who played with lawn darts.

I always laugh at those “Share if you survived [insert dangerous behaviour here]” memes. Kinda hard for those who didn’t survive it to share, isn’t it?

Why do we act like the choice is either stifling helicopter parenting or total foolhardiness? Balance is a good thing.

And I bet he walked twenty miles to school, barefoot, in a blizzard, uphill, BOTH WAYS!!!

An “I love my recliner” T-shirt aaannnd a mega McD cup… Ol’ Jef wanted to make sure we got the point. Scherz will have something to say about that…

Kid, whether you want to be like him or not, the next 40 years will change your shape and your outlook.

In my day kids didn’t have helmets to wear.

I won’t be one of those “back in my day” types. “Kids these days” are having to deal with crap I never had to experience myself when I was their age. I’m more interested in helping them handle it than yelling at them for not wanting to be just like me.

In the words of Coach Ferguson, the no-neck high school football coach: “just shake it off”.

I tell kids that wearing helmets and pads is a smart thing to do and to have a fun day.

And then you had to go and ruin it

In that guy’s days, he was probably already loafing in a recliner with a super-sized McDonald’s soda.

Ask anyone in the medical field: Prevention is always, always, always, always preferable to (and generally less expensive than) cure.

“I love being told I’m growing up wrong by people I don’t want to turn out like.” …..wise!

False logic, Jef. Sure, the slob coach isn’t what the kid wants to become, but did he turn out that way from not wearing a helmet?

You know, that’s a much more diplomatic response than “Okay boomer”

@CONC, I learned to skate on a single skate, the old ones with steel wheels and I was barefoot, I wus flying all around the neighborhood, and never took a spill, can’t remember where I found that single skate and can’t tell where I lost it, I just had the time of my life, Imagine that, no shoes ? No problem ! Hopefully the next kid that found it had as much fun as I did at six years old