Should kids really be allowed to play paintball? #TIWIWF
Well that’s the question I’m asking myself … for the next time my son asks to go and play. Why?
Let’s see ….
- Serious bruises to his ribcage
Well … you know that one? It’s his badge of honor. I’ll ignore that one.
- Total exhaustion at the end of the day
Nope … this one still wins on the positives.
- Absolute fun with his friends.
Always a good thing.
- Doctor’s visit, CT scan and impending bills?
Well … this one negates ALL the rest.
You see … he had TONS of fun. Showed off all his bruises and mentioned that he’d gotten pummeled in the head. “Okay … we’ll keep an eye on you,” I said. What he failed to mention was the fact that he was shot IN THE HEAD at near POINT BLANK RANGE while reloading his paintball gun FOUR times. <– The stuff in caps is the key there.
His friends say an opportunity presented itself and they took it. As an entrepreneur, I should look at this and say ‘Bravo! for the proactive nature of the game.’
But I can’t.
Why?
Two days after the game, my son was dizzy, having trouble concentrating and maybe even having a little trouble forming his sentences. He said this. His dad doesn’t necessarily agree … but then again … his dad spent 3 hours carting him to the Urgent Care and to Radiology for a CT scan and back to Urgent Care to have said CT scan read and then home with a diagnosis of ‘Mild Concussion’ — which for his dad to actually proactively do those things means he saw *something* going on.
From paintball.
[Insert Mom’s unhappy face here]
What had been a day of fun turned into a day of stress I didn’t need (who does?) and what will be a nightmare of bills for us.
All because his friends took their chance and struck in the SAME spot while my son was ‘vulnerable’. Now he’ll never admit to being vulnerable, that’s probably the Mom in me saying, ‘NO MORE PAINTBALL’ when in reality, it’s stupid that those helmets don’t even cover the back of their heads.
There, that’s the crux of my argument here. WHY don’t paintball helmets cover the whole head? Isn’t that the most important part of your body? Your head? Now, granted, guys might disagree but I don’t think there were cups worn during this fight either. **ouch**
Of course, I digress … so …
Now I’m not going to get on a soapbox or go and sue the paintball people …. (my kid probably did sign a waver — I don’t know because I wasn’t there). But why is it that boys have to pick sports that even when they don’t SEEM dangerous … ARE?
I mean, can’t they play with dolls like my 7 year old girls? Granted, they cut themselves with scissors, but a trip downstairs for a SpongeBob band aid only costs $.50 … not the thousand that comes with a CT scan.
I joke, regularly, that my son is hard headed, but the skull can really only take so much.
Yes, he’s fine.
But I’m not.
Because kids don’t understand the ramifications of their actions before the take them. Four paintballs to the same spot on my son’s head earns him a concussion.
All for having fun.
I don’t think there’s any way to fix this … it is what it is. Kids get hurt. They have to experience life to live and grow. And unfortunately for me, I don’t think he’s going to take kindly to sitting on the couch and crocheting or creating lace doilies.
Bummer for me.
What do you think? Is it the parent’s responsibility to stop the kids from playing altogether? Or is it the kid’s and adults responsibility on-site to explain the rules and live with whatever happens? Or should EVERY paintballer wear helmets? Or maybe we should all live in bubbles to make sure none of us every gets hurt.
As I’ve said before … #TIWIWF …. This Is Why I Write Fiction.
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My boys love paintball and yes, they’ve been hurt, not to my liking, but hey, they’re boys. My oldest son has had 3 concussions, two from riding his bike, the other from doing tricks on his skateboard off of ramps. Totally get the bills. Been there, done that. The same thing could happen playing basketball, baseball or football, not that that’s much consolation, mom.
If your son likes paintball, and if he would like to play a lot, it might be a wise investment to purchase a full head gear helmet. You can get entry level ones for $35 to $50 online that are nice. A lot better than the $$$ paid out to hospitals and you can rest assured your precious daredevil can have fun while being well protected.
My oldest son, btw, is almost 20. His next feat??? Skydiving. 🙂
No thanks on the skydiving. 🙂 I did have to sign a waiver for football about concussions. 🙂 It’s not actually that I’m so worried about … but kids that don’t understand the ramifications of deliberately going for someone’s head. It can be seriously serious. 🙂 Luckily for my head-strong kid, he has talked about full helmets for playing again. 🙂
What you need is one of those massive inflatable bubble-balls that he can climb inside, and then just roll everywhere he needs to go. Not only will he not be able to bang himself, but he’s have an absolute hoot every time he left the house. 😉
haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha
He’d never get in it. 🙂
I’m forty (ish) and my mom STILL yells at me for playing baseball but now the complaint is that I’m too old and don’t heal as fast.
I think it’s a missing bit of DNA in some men’s (and women’s) brains when it come to competing. I’ve played paint-ball and without a helmet, just my hat turned backwards. It only took one shot to the bare knuckles for me to use gloves and a cup and an extra layer of sweatshirt(s) and pants. The flip side is that all the places I played took great pains to make everyone aware of the dangers of close range shots. In no uncertain terms they told and showed us that it would cause serious injury. Also to never EVER shoot someone reloading.
Those kids should have known better and if they didn`t that place should have been more clear.
Ultimately, they have to learn themselves but it`s hard to sit back and watch. Sometimes the harder you push them away from something, the more they want to do it.
I would have no problems when I was younger with using a helmet had they been availiable and from the sounds of it, neither will your son.
I think my son would happily use a full helmet. He actually said “They only offered them for sale.” Go figure. 🙂