RAKSHA BANDHAN Wrapped in cotton wool

ASydney public school recently took the decision t o ban hand srnnds, cartwheel s and somersaul ts in tl1e p layground during lun ch and recess Lmless '\u1der the supervision of a c:ra.ined gymnastics teacher and with correct equipm ent".

Should tl1e move be accepted as cutrent day realic:y, or does it mean the snatching away of childhood from our children?

On one hand the schoo l feels that it does not have sufficient teachers to supervise lunchtime play, and is keen to avoid injury co the child ren who may indulge in tl1ese robust activities. The school maintains that these children are under their care during school hours, and simply ,vane to ensure a safe play environment, just as parents in the conmmnity take extra care of their chiJdren's friends when they come visiting.

On the od1er band, parents are concerned mat an important pare of childhood fun is being take n away from d1eir children and d1e school is bending excessively to a strict regime.

Childhood does seem co have veered in a different direction these days. Most readers wiU recaU their own childhood before tbe advent of the internet, iPods , iPads and even 24/7 television, when they found their entertainment in the great outdoors, coming home only when mLm1 shouted our that dinner was read y Growing up in India, we can al.I remember congregating in the streets after school to play cricket or other traditionaJ games (gilli-da11da, anyone?) or becrer still, ma.Icing up our own games with battered tennis baUs and even more battered cricket bats. Play/ entertainment was aU abom inventing fun, rather than having it package-delivered to us Rough and rumble was part of this fm1, as we took physical risks in c ycling withom helmets or p laying on hard surfaces or facing a fast bowler wi d1out a helmeL

Sure, d1ere were more than a few cuts and grazes and chipped teem - even a broken arm or a l eg - these were bur a staple of child hood

Even parents were more relaxed about these activities , oftentimes happily unaware of the risks their children were taking. \Xlhat doesn't kiU you can only make you stronger - when was tl1e last time )'011 used these words as a parent? We put padded surfaces on play areas in tbe park, keep slides sho re (plastic onJy please) , and teach kids to use antibacteriaJ hand soaps

In sport, we give trophies co all participating kids

Everyone's a winne r, bab y

At school, ' F' for fail is becoming increasingly uncommon. Some teachers don't even put a cross against a wrong answer in math s because it is ' too negative ' - choosing instead to mark it with a dot that is 'less confronting' ln the modern era we need to learn, as respon s ible parents, what limits our children need and when to let them test their independence. EquaU y, responsible schools should provide sn1den ts avenues for exciting physical (and mental) activities that reach d1em that well -managed ri sk is good for them.

Is this an insane effort to overprotect our kids from ph ysical and mental injuries iliac we all suffered growing up, and which caught us res ilience? A re we making our kids think d1e world is more dangerous than ir reaUy i s, thereby stifling independence and imagination and raising a generation of ri s k-avoiders rarner than risk - takers?

While you might argue that the Sydney school - and perhaps parenting attitudes in general - have taken matters too far, a fact of modern life is diar new dange rs d o exist which were les s prevaJent when we were growing up. Car seats and safety belts do help protect lives in our more streamlined cars that we drive o n s m oother roads and in faster traffic; coloured drinks do have more harmful food additives, and stranger-danger is a relev ant menace.

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