I'm sitting here nursing a badly bruised hand today. I injured it while operating my big Powermatic wood lathe(affiliate link) yesterday when the gouge caught in the wood and slammed down on the tool rest like a hammer under power- with my hand under it. I was hollowing out a bowl and crossed the centerline with the gouge catching in the "wrong" side of the work. Needless to say, I didn't do any more lathe turning yesterday. Indeed, it will likely be next week before I am able to get back to it. The piece I was working on was almost finished with that step, so I took it off the lathe and laid it aside. I may be able to salvage it. I had to get my dad to come out and help me clean up the wet shavings to avoid making everything rust while I nursed my injured hand.

That brings me to a thought I have had rattling around in my head for a while now.

American society is really funny about safety. We have factories striving for 0 injuries ever. We have games like Fear Factor. We are enthralled with sports games that regularly stop to nurse injured players. A significant subset of the population regularly engages in extreme activities even flirting with death. Perhaps a majority of us are afraid to do any number of things for fear of getting hurt.

Why is our thinking so schizophrenic about safety?

Perhaps part of the reason is a widespread lack of experience doing real activities. In my opinion, one of the jobs of parents is to allow their children freedom to figure out how things work even while keeping them safe from severe injuries.

When I was a child, I was allowed to use a riding lawnmower from the time I was four years old. I wasn't allowed to use a push mower until much, much later, and then only with some reluctance on the part of my parents. It was a calculated risk. When it came time, years later, for me to get behind the wheel of a car, it was nearly natural and not a big deal.

The truth is none of us wants to get hurt. We don't want our kids to get hurt. We wish we could prevent all injuries ever. The truth is that we can't.

However, I believe we can help our children to be careful and wise. Some kids come by it more easily than others, but all of us can improve the situation. At the very least, we can cause them to learn proper techniques and understand the risks involved. Understanding the risks generally comes from or is made mature through experience.

Here is my take on this. Perhaps it should be noted that I don't (yet) have any children who are true daredevils. I encourage my children to get involved with a variety of things, but particularly with things they have aptitude for. I want to help them understand how to do it and how to avoid serious injury. I don't want to lock them in a closet and prevent them from ever doing anything that could cause injury. In my opinion, that could lead to excessive risk taking later in life and, perhaps worse, an unfulfilled life.

My hand still really hurts today, is swollen, and slightly blue, but after "sleeping on it", I figured out a way to do the cut I was doing safely. I was also reminded of the dangers of doing the work I do, the need to "be sharp", and to use proper techniques. Was the learning worth the injury?

I don't want to answer that question, but I do know I don't want to repeat the learning process.

There's life after school,
Luke Townsley
SaltMakers.com