Child Seat on a Kubota

crashz · Jun 8, 2005

I wouldn't quite say that. I'd say they both involve people who took on the resposnibility to look after a very young child and decided to run their lawn tractors instead. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that you can't do both at the same time. Young or old. Other examples of tasks NOT to do while watching a toddler:
- Napping
- Tree Work
- Wood Chipping
- Jack Hammering
- Surgery (being the patient or doctor)
- Burning Leaves and Brush
- Meditating
- Sensory Deprivation Isolation
- Rock Climbing
- Javelin Throwing

johndeere2210 · Jun 8, 2005

I realize that this could turn into a very heated discussion, and I hope that it doesn't. However, I noted a couple of things that stand out in this thread that I felt the need to address.

I learned how to drive a tractor when I was eight years old. One poster stated that equipment has changed a lot in the last 30-40 years. I agree with that statement. I learned how to drive on an H Farmall with a narrow front end. On a good day the brakes were marginal at best and the steering was loose when the H was new. Not to mention that the PTO shield was non existant and there were no fancy plastic guards on PTO operated equipment. I would much rather see my 8 year old grandson operating my CUT with power steering, good brakes and shielded PTO equipment.

Age of the supervisor really does not enter into the equation. Accidents do happen and not all the time does there have to be a determination of fault. How many times were we as children told not to touch the stove? How many of us touched it anyway to see what would happen? One thing sure, we never touched it again. Now stoves are insulated to keep our little ones safe. Is it because we wanted to save our little ones the unpleasantness of finding out the stove was hot or do we not want to take the time to teach them the proper way to behave around a hot stove? If Grandpa or Grandma are in their eighties or nineties, it is really up to Mom and Dad to "govern" the activities of the children. If Mom and Dad do not want the children riding on the lawn mower with Grandpa, they should make that known up front, instead of condemnation after an accident happens.

In short guys, what ever happened to common sense? Personally, I would much rather that my Grandson would be interested in safe operation of equipment than be glued to the sofa and watching TV. IMHO, if a child is going to excell at anything, they have to start doing that thing the earliest age possible and keep doing that thing until it becomes second nature to them. Have you ever seen an Olympic athlete that started training at age 20?

Thank you for allowing me to post my opinion. This is a great forum and I am glad to be a part of it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Soundguy · Jun 9, 2005

( In short guys, what ever happened to common sense )

It's excedingly uncommon these days /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

This new generation isn't into accepting personal responsibilities for their actions.

It's bad when you can sue for being burned by a cup of coffee that says 'hot coffee'. Now if the cup failed.. that's one thing.. but if you spill it on yourself and sue.. that just means you aren't accepting personal responsibility like you should.. etc.

Soundguy

Junkman · Jun 9, 2005

Blame all the lawyers that encourage this by advertising on television, radio, telephone books, etc. They are the ones that have caused most of these type problems since they are always saying "get money for your injury" I think that I am going to sue my inlaws since if they didn't have a daughter, I wouldn't have been able to married her.......... Her cooking is killing me.. Wonder if I can find a lawyer to take the case????? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

drzmatt · Jun 9, 2005

( ( In short guys, what ever happened to common sense )

It's excedingly uncommon these days /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif.

This new generation isn't into accepting personal responsibilities for their actions.

It's bad when you can sue for being burned by a cup of coffee that says 'hot coffee'. Now if the cup failed.. that's one thing.. but if you spill it on yourself and sue.. that just means you aren't accepting personal responsibility like you should.. etc.

Soundguy )

Kids need to be given personal responsability in order to have it. It is their parents that are the problem, not them. If you have low expectations of your children that is what you will get. I blame some of the attitudes on this forum for the problem. Give kids a chance before you blindly condemn all of them.

hudr · Jun 9, 2005

I agree w/ drzmatt to a certain extent. Kids today are too insulated from danger. A certain amount of exposure is necessary (like the hot stove example in one of the other posts). Example: I pulled the 7.5X16 front tires off my tractor to replace them w/ 10.00x16's. My then 4 year old son saw me roll one into the shop. He took it upon himself to roll the other one (I am proud he took the initiative to fall in and help). The tire got away from him and ended up falling on him and pinning him down. It scared him more than anything, but the point is this>.. a little of that is good for him. Later he will look at that 18.4-34 tire and remember this incident. He will then decide if a 7.5x16 could fall on him, so could this much bigger tire and he will take action to avoid that circumstance (like asking for help w/it). I do not want to knowingly endanger my child's health, life, self-esteem or anything. But... I also don't want him growing up into a useless drag on society who blames everyone else for his problems and doesn't take responsibility for his own actions. Pieces of equipment (tractors, lawn mowers, stoves, guns, etc.) are just inanimate objects. It is the user that makes them unsafe for the most part. My child will be exposed to things, taught things and maybe if I am lucky he will help to turn around this attitude that "all" kids today are irresponsible hoodlums.
Hugh O'Brien told a group of kids at a youth leadership seminar (which I was fortunate enough to attend) this : Do not get discouraged, the papers will print none of the good deeds you do but they will list the smallest mistake you make as a young adult. Just keep doing the good things and maybe when there is nothing bad to report, the good deeds will be recognized...but don't count on it.
That sums it up for me. People are usually going to harp on the bad, not the good. Human nature I guess. I hope I can instill the good in my son before the bad has a chance to root.
Sorry for the rant, looks like my .02 turned into nearly 2 bits.

Jagmandave · Jun 12, 2005

( Blame all the lawyers that encourage this by advertising on television, radio, telephone books, etc. They are the ones that have caused most of these type problems since they are always saying "get money for your injury" I think that I am going to sue my inlaws since if they didn't have a daughter, I wouldn't have been able to married her.......... Her cooking is killing me.. Wonder if I can find a lawyer to take the case????? /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif )

I don't think it's the lawyer's fault, they provide a service - people hire them to go after these companies and sue them, they aren't just doing it on their own. The fault lies in the juries and judges who award these ridiculous sums to people for nothing, if they weren't awarding the big money, there wouldn't be a market for these lawyers, they'd do something else.

Junkman · Jun 12, 2005

( I don't think it's the lawyer's fault, they provide a service - people hire them to go after these companies and sue them, they aren't just doing it on their own. The fault lies in the juries and judges who award these ridiculous sums to people for nothing, if they weren't awarding the big money, there wouldn't be a market for these lawyers, they'd do something else. )

This is like the discussion of which came first, the chicken or the egg. Judges are lawyers that have made a good reputation and have moved up the "food chain". The lawyers look for people to represent by advertising in newspapers, magazines, television, radio, etc. saying "did you take this medication?" and when they find enough people they start a class action law suit to represent those that respond, even if they haven't been injured, but took the medication. They know that the large companies will just settle eventually because the cost of defending the suit will cripple them eventually. I have no problem with people that are truly injured collecting for there injuries, but in the end, in most of the class action lawsuits, the lawyers are the big winners, not the actual people that joined the suit. The entire U.S. legal system has one basic flaw. You have to pay the people that represent you even though you are found not responsible in the end, and you have no way to recoup this cost from the party that filed the suit and lost. In many countries, the loosing party pays the costs of the the winner of the legal battle. This sure goes a long way to keep people from starting a legal action that is unfounded and meant to just fleece the pockets of others. Some lawyers do provide a good service to the community, however some are just out to collect fees and don't care about the merits of the case as long as they can collect there fees. These are the ones that give all lawyers a bad name.

bandit67 · Jun 13, 2005

I agree with rswyan - he's brought up a lot of good points.

I don't completely agree with drzmatt when he says ( Kids need to be given personal responsability in order to have it. It is their parents that are the problem, not them. If you have low expectations of your children that is what you will get. )

Sometimes its just genetics, plain and simple. I have a 4 year old daughter with my wife, and an 11 year old stepdaughter and 13 year old stepson. Man, there is a huge difference between the 4 year old's abilities, and the two older kids - it even amazes my wife. My dad was hard on me so that I wouldn't turn out to be a complete lazy dope when I grew up. If my dad was still around, I think he'd be proud of how well I do when it comes to trying to teach the 2 stepkids. I've had 8 years to work on them, and I swear, that some of the things I'm dealing with to this day, I've been dealing with for all 8 years - some things just don't sink in. Then there's the little one who picks up on things much quicker than the older 2 did at her age, and even at times, than the older 2 do now.

I don't know how many times I've ended up asking the 2 older kids how many times I have to show them how to do something before they'll finally get it. The little one, on the other hand, picks up on things as soon as she sees it done just once.

You just have to learn, as a parent, how to best ATTEMPT to get the point across, and hope to God that some of it actually sinks in. Sometimes you're successful, and sometimes you fail miserably. And often times, you can get extremely frustrated - I don't know how many times I say "I give up!" But, I guess us parents are gluttens for punishment, cause we end up trying again, hoping that something gets learned before they get out on their own. Believe me, you can have high expectations, but it doesn't mean that all kids can meet those expectations. It is a nice change when one of them meets, and actually exceeds your expectations, and amazes you while doing it.