We’ve been celebrating those mothers and fathers who get busy rough-housing their kids. The importance of wrestling my toddler cannot be underestimated, and we’re quite happy to see a recent viral video showing dad having fun with his kid.
But there are a lot of folks warning against the practice. A recent post on Reddit pointed out the risks involved with such play in infants:
Another post also points out the problems with such shenanigans:
Then there’s the horrific news of a family friend taking it too far with a child:
“Police said Hoffman was performing a wrestling move by The Undertaker known as “The Last Ride” at his Jersey Shore apartment Tuesday and had intended for Bryson to land on a bed. In the move, depicted in many online videos, the wrestler gets the opponent on his shoulders in a sort of reverse piggyback, then throws him to the ground.”
There are so many stories about things gone wrong, one must ask himself if it’s worth it?
When I was a little kid (I think around that kid’s age) I used to play ‘wrestling’ with my dad. We were in the living room, on the floor, and I charged at him. He moved to the side to avoid me and I tripped on the carpet and hit my head on the hard corner of the sofa. I fainted for like 5-10 minutes. When I came to, both my parents were crying and splashing water on my face trying to wake me up. Everything turned out fine (I think…) but everybody was scared shitless. Needless to say it could’ve gone much worse and from then on, no more wrestling with daddy 🙁
– morgawr_
Nonetheless, there’s a responsible way of playing with kids that can sometimes push the limits of what we think is politically correct or constructive for children. If you ask yourself if wrestling with my toddler is okay, then the first thing to remember is that there are a lot of us fathers out there doing it already. But if you ask your wife if wrestling with my toddler is okay, the feedback may not be as positive. Not that gender differences are consistent in this regard. There are plenty of female wrestlers out there who might knock my block off for suggestion women aren’t also taking it to the ring with their toddlers.
At the end of the day, there are guidelines parents can follow for playing roughly with their kids, including having a safe environment where if something does go wrong the collateral damage will be minimized – both for your toddler and those siblings and physical possessions around.
Baby tossing has been covered here on Bumpkin.com before. Doctors have claimed benefits come from being rough with your children, but the decision is always one that should be made with the baby in mind. Are they ready?