Ground Control to Major Mom

Wow — I was nervous about posting the wooden bat thing, but I guess I might have spoken out on something that may have been on many of our minds in the first place.I thought I might have been the only one seeming so heartless.

Not that this holds a candle to the New Jersey family’s brain damage, but Jake broke his leg on a giant inflatable slide in summer 2006. Dave and Jake went down the slide together, Dave landed on Jake’s leg at the bottom. It was at the Town of Apex’s July 4th celebration.

Our insurance company made us go to the town and to the inflatable slide rental company for information and then went on to inquire whether we’d attempt to recoup our insurance company’s medical costs.

What? If the insurance company wants their medical costs reimbursed, they could pursue it themselves! I was busy trying to provide a semblance of a summer to my 3 1/2 year old!

It was our choice to allow Jake to go down the slide.

I did write a letter to the slide-rental company because the teenagers hired as attendants did nothing when it was discovered that Jake broke his leg — they continued to let children slide and pile up while we kept those kids from crashing into Jacob. But that was it.

But that did get me thinking about whether the family’s HMO might be putting pressure on them to seek recoupment of some of their expenses…from someone!

PS: A week after Jake’s leg cast came off, he fell off a slide structure at our fitness center’s child care area and cut open his eyebrow, requiring stitches. The insurance company made us go through the same thing again.

Hi friends,

I happened across this story on Foxnews.com this morning. While I’m sympathetic with the family for their tragedy, what will sueing the baseball bat manufacturer, the sporting goods store AND Little League accomplish? I understand they might need some financial assistance for the medical needs the young man has now.

But to sue Little League Baseball? They’re a non-profit organization! And they don’t seem happy about the move afoot to ban “non-wood bats” from play.

I haven’t seen the details of what terms the family will sue for, I guess the family could simply sue for Little League to ban non-wood bats from play?

The parents could have chosen to not allow their son to play Little League if they didn’t feel metal bats are safe. But since they let their son shoot arrows in their basement (see news story linked above), I’m sure a metal bat’s safety didn’t cross their minds preemptively.

While I don’t have a baseball background (neither does Dave, except that he’s a Yankees fan), I try to keep aware of these issues, for I’m sure one day Jake will come home from school and ask, “Mommy and Daddy, may I play [insert name of organized sport here]?” At least, we’re hoping he’ll want to try out something. He’s expressed an interest in ice hockey when we get to Nebraska, and this summer I’ve enrolled him in an ice skating lessons 1-week camp in Cary. We’ll see how he feels about the ice hockey once he’s developed confidence on ice skates.

Caution: Patricia’s opinion follows.

As parents, it is our responsibility to maintain that delicate balance between keeping our kids happy (by letting them do things they want to do) and keeping them safe/well-disciplined/out of trouble (by making those tough decisions on their behalf that might not make the kid happy). So, if you feel a particular organized sport may not be in your child’s best interest, make the decision not to allow for it.

Note: I haven’t had to make a colossally unpopular decision yet, my kids are still young, and I’m not looking forward to the fallout when I might have to tell my kids things like:

“No, you may NOT stay out all night at age 14.” or

“No, I’m NOT buying you a car for your 16th birthday!” or

“No, I’m NOT buying a keg for your 18th birthday party!”

I spend a lot of time pondering whether I’m a good mother or not. Especially with my youngest one, who has a much more “spirited” and “rebellious” personality than his older brother. I think overall they’re pretty good kids, but they’re no angels! I see parenting situations in the news, on Supernanny, and among other parents at parks/malls/grocery stores and I have to admit I’m always gauging: “At least my kids aren’t that bad…” or “Why can’t my kids be that good?”

So, there’s my controversial topic for the day. Go forth and tell me how right/wrong/out in left field you think I am, it’s okay, really.