Everyone is Talking
About the 10 year-old boy who died on the world’s tallest water slide this past weekend.
Why do I care?
As parents, many of us encourage our children to be brave and venture onto roller coasters or water slides when they reach the height minimums, but this incident may have some of us second guessing the rides we allow them to try, or at least holding firm until they are plenty tall to try them.
Tell me more.
Caleb Thomas Schwab, 10, the son of a Kansas Rep. Scott Schwab died this weekend after going on the world’s tallest water slide, the Verrückt (translation: Insane) at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas. From the park website the slide is described:
Adventure seekers will be able to share this experience as they strap into a 3 person raft that will slide down a jaw dropping 168 foot 7 inch structure, only to be blasted back up a second massive hill and then sent down yet another gut wrenching 50 foot drop for the ultimate in water slide thrills!
There are few details that immediately known about the ride and the accident, there is still an investigation in progress:
- The minimum height required for the ride is 54″. It has not been clarified yet if Caleb was 54″ tall.
- The ride requires 2-3 riders , strapped in, with a combined weight of 400-550 pounds per ride. It has not been reported who rode with Caleb and if the weight requirement was met or if something was faulty with the straps or the fitting of the straps.
Verrückt was built in Kansas City because it didn’t have a height restriction in place.
Our hearts are with the Schwab family at this time as they seek answers as to what happened.
That’s What He Said
One father, Tim Challies is talking about why his family doesn’t do sleepovers. While he and his wife worry about some of the worse case scenarios, they also look at some of the things they recall happening at sleepovers when they were young. They don’t adopt the mindset that the world is a scarier place than it was when we were all kids, but they do believe sleepovers lend themselves, potentially to trouble.
“When I was young I had some bad experiences with sleepovers. Nothing devastating happened to me, but I did learn that sleepovers bring a certain vulnerability and that children often behave foolishly in these circumstances. Before long my family came to know the local chief of police and he told us that if he had learned anything in his many years of law enforcement it was this: Don’t let your kids sleep over.”
Ultimately, Challies states that families have to make a decision that is right for their family and their personal comfort levels.
Lunchbox Love
It’s that time of year again when you have to pack those lunches, so why not make sure a little extra love is thrown in with their turkey and cheese? Print out these great finds:
- Bring the lunchtime laughs with these lunch box jokes.
- Send a daily love note with a clever play on words.
- Send a daily affirmation with your child and tell them to read it to themselves as a reminder of all their positive traits.
Hack it Up
At the beginning of the year, we’re all eager to pack healthy, creative lunches because it marks that exciting time when you get to send the kids back to the classroom and we’re all putting our best foot forward. But, the truth is, we need to start the year with sustainable practices. Here are some great options:
- Create an organized lunch cart that makes packing lunches easy for you and your kids to assist.
- Keep it easy, but visually fun for your kids to have a healthy lunch using silicone cupcake cups for holding lunch items.
- Consider snackboxes for the after school hunger, activities grind. These will hold your kids over until you get home for a proper dinner.
Parting Thought
“…hard days are the best because that’s where champions are made, so if you push through the hard days you can get through anything.”
–Gabby Douglas, 2012 interview with CBS after launching herself into Olympic history as the first African American and only the fourth American woman to win the all around individual gymnastics gold medal. Mary Lou Retton being the first. We’re looking forward to the American team making history again very soon.
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