And so many parents are scared senseless over the notion of their child getting hurt. I'm all for safety, but at the same time, bangs and bruises are natural byproducts of kids learning new skills and discovering limitations. (It's called the “school of hard knocks” for a reason.) There's an interesting theory called “risk homeostatis” that I blogged about that supports the idea that when a play area is made “safer,” kids simply find new ways to use it, thereby negating much of the safety improvements.

Also, I believe that cell phones steal children's ability to reason and solve problems. Kids no longer have to ration or reason their way out of sticky situations – they just dial up helicopter Mom who'll swoop down and rescue them at a moment's notice.