Okay,Today I want to Zip London,a 35 metre tall zipline.Approaching the start point,ahead of me in the queue was a woman and 2 children the boy was around 8-9,the girl 6-7 suiting up for their turn.The instructor pointed out that the children should go together(separate lines) before the mother as 1 child could not be left alone on the tower incase they would be to scared to jump.Bare in mind there was no elevator only a narrow staircase of 183 steps to the bottom.This presented the first problem
Then the boy became panicked and scared as he and the girl were being placed in harnesses.The instructor asked that the woman and kids move to the side whilst they tried to calm the boy.The woman at this point made a agitated phonecall to the child's parents ,I don't believe she was his mother(different race).As this was happening 2 more pairs jumped.Then it was my turn.However the primary instructor decided to let the family have another shot.
Fair enough,this led to the ever increasingly panicked and crying boy being inch closer to the edge.The woman using such great parenting lines as keep your eye on the goal and the reward,meanwhile the girl was harnessed good to go.Sadly the woman kept cajoling the poor boy for nearly 5 minutes infront of everyone,which at a point i and others felt was detrimental to the child.
This is where it gets bad,With the child clearly unable to jump,the woman then asked to be allowed to go with the other child and come back for the boy,leaving a tearful panicked child with strangers.I offered to go with her daughter and wait on the other tower for her to collect her(risky i know but better than abandoning the boy i felt).The woman refused,She then started asking other queuers to escort the boy down so she could complete the jump with the girl.I came close to losing my rag at her at this point.However a gent behind me with 2 kids of his own offered to take the child around,forgoing his jump.
Lo and behold guardian of the year does her jump with the girl.
Then io complete mine,which upon landing i see the boy is already there however the woman and the girl are nowhere to be seen(i had intencded to tell her my thoughts on the matter).
So to top it all off she didnt even console the poor boy.
Granted i dont have children so i may not be the best judge but i was fuming at her.
Also the tower staff should have betterways of dealing with no jumps and children.
Whats your thoughts?
Parenting/Guardian Failure
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Height restrictions are for safety reasons, since rides are designed anthropometrically. There should have also been a minimum age requirement, too, IMO. (Depending on the ride experience and its presentation to riders. A bunch of happy, welcoming, cartoon figures that don't look like they were ripped from a horror show would help.)Gosnell wrote:To be honest age was'nt a factor,there is a height restriction,but numerous kids were doing it.However a 1 child per adult rule would have avoided this.
Better yet, a very simple rule: If a minor child refuses the ride, it must be accompanied off the ride by its guardian. Minor children riding the ride must be immediately followed by their guardian.
So, logically, if one child in a group of minors refuses to ride and there is only one guardian present, the whole group has to dismount the ride.
And, if one child refuses, later, like happened in this case?
It's not really the guardian's fault - Children are children. The only "fault" here is that the guardian didn't plan for all contingencies, likely because they, themselves, weren't a parent and never had the experience of children being children. That means that if it can be done, their kids will figure out how to break it...
One could also say that the ride promoters could have shown a bit more forethought, too, if possible. "Why are you bringing that fire-extinguisher? We're just taking your kids out to eat at McDonalds." said the non-parenting-experienced person.
Hmmmm I can kinda see her point of view . . . . a bit.
If the child that had wanted to do the jump had missed out because the other (brother, friend?) bottled it then her life would likely have become a living hell for the remainder of that day.
Having said that, its pretty obvious she should either have accepted your offer of assistance or just have accepted the ruined day as a consequence taking the responsible action as a parent / guardian.
It doesn't make it right but as a recent parent myself I can empathise somewhat with doing the "wrong" thing if it means you get a slightly easier life. See also shutting children up with electronics etc.
If (as you suspected) she wasn't actually the child's parent, then her motivation to do the right thing at cost to herself might have been lowered further.
If the child that had wanted to do the jump had missed out because the other (brother, friend?) bottled it then her life would likely have become a living hell for the remainder of that day.
Having said that, its pretty obvious she should either have accepted your offer of assistance or just have accepted the ruined day as a consequence taking the responsible action as a parent / guardian.
It doesn't make it right but as a recent parent myself I can empathise somewhat with doing the "wrong" thing if it means you get a slightly easier life. See also shutting children up with electronics etc.
If (as you suspected) she wasn't actually the child's parent, then her motivation to do the right thing at cost to herself might have been lowered further.
"Shoot for the Moon. If you miss, you'll end up co-orbiting the Sun alongside Earth, living out your days alone in the void within sight of the lush, welcoming home you left behind." - XKCD
This clip from Southpark sums it up pretty well.Observe wrote:I know absolutely nothing about Zip London or even ziplines in general, but from the sound of it, shouldn't there be an age requirement? How about 18yrs minimum? Or even 12 or 14? Seems this is a bit much for a six year old.
"The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn't have the weight of gender expectations." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
There are these small-medium, mostly black, roughly pear-shaped things you can buy, I once gave one as a present to my colleague as a 'child calmer', because of he always complained about his son and daughter and that they are no calm kids. They are very effective if used right, like a good smack on the back of the head.
But back to topic: a panicked child is bad, and this even can cause a trauma that will stay until old age. First sign of 'panic' = leave with the kid.
Handling kids is quite easy, just tell them everything to happen in detail, especially with such completely unusual and very new situations. In this age this is even more important.
It's like teaching a 4 year old how to swim: show him he floats almost on his own while on his back in the water, talk all the time, show first, and then, after he got used to water and just being there, teach how to actual swim.
But who am I to teach basics in child handling ... I hate children. =) I only love them when they look out of the neighbors windows, then they are not my problem.
But back to topic: a panicked child is bad, and this even can cause a trauma that will stay until old age. First sign of 'panic' = leave with the kid.
Handling kids is quite easy, just tell them everything to happen in detail, especially with such completely unusual and very new situations. In this age this is even more important.
It's like teaching a 4 year old how to swim: show him he floats almost on his own while on his back in the water, talk all the time, show first, and then, after he got used to water and just being there, teach how to actual swim.
But who am I to teach basics in child handling ... I hate children. =) I only love them when they look out of the neighbors windows, then they are not my problem.
... what is a drop of rain, compared to the storm? ... what is a thought, compared to the mind? ... our unity is full of wonder which your tiny individualism cannot even conceive ... I've heard it all before ... you're saying nothing new ... I thought I saw a rainbow ... but I guess it wasn't true ... you cannot make me listen ... I cannot make you hear ... you find your way to heaven ... I'll meet you when you're there ...
Wut? How does Brexit have to do anything with any of this?Yaunm wrote:OP described 2 problems in the OP. ( General citizen mistrust and a certain other issue) And both will be solved by Brexit. There is literally no need to do anything.
"The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn't have the weight of gender expectations." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
clakclak wrote:Wut? How does Brexit have to do anything with any of this?Yaunm wrote:OP described 2 problems in the OP. ( General citizen mistrust and a certain other issue) And both will be solved by Brexit. There is literally no need to do anything.
I think Yaunm is going for monty python sort of humor.
Oh it was sarcasm? All right. Sadly on the internet you never know.fiksal wrote:clakclak wrote:Wut? How does Brexit have to do anything with any of this?Yaunm wrote:OP described 2 problems in the OP. ( General citizen mistrust and a certain other issue) And both will be solved by Brexit. There is literally no need to do anything.
I think Yaunm is going for monty python sort of humor.
"The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn't have the weight of gender expectations." - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Brexit will have a massive impact on the amount of cultural confusion caused by British ziplines ( and scary German busses)clakclak wrote:Wut? How does Brexit have to do anything with any of this?Yaunm wrote:OP described 2 problems in the OP. ( General citizen mistrust and a certain other issue) And both will be solved by Brexit. There is literally no need to do anything.