Tony Hawk Defends Himself Against Helicopter Parents
Tony Hawk is a skateboarding legend. He can do things while standing on a board that I can't do standing on my feet. He would obviously be the coolest dad in the world.
But even legends hit speedbumps and Hawk came under fire this week after posting a photo on Instagram. He is seen swinging his shoeless four-year-old daughter while riding his skateboard in his backyard skateboard park. Problem is, neither of them are wearing helmets.
In the 500+ comments, his parenting skills get questioned in polite, incredulous and rude ways, including: "Put a helmet on her, moron!" The story was picked up by news outlets and the judging came quickly.
His response was to post another picture of him and his daughter, Kadence Clover, skateboarding, with this comment:
See, cool dad.
But is skateboarding without a helmet bad parenting? It is for most humans. There is no question that Hawk knows his abilities and riding a board is second nature to him. But accidents do happen. I have tripped on the sidewalk more times than I can count (but then again I don't wear a helmet on the sidewalk).
Obviously, the Hawk family has a ton of fun and is able to make different risk assessments than mine. But just because Hawk can ride without a helmet without fear, should he?
I allow my kids to use very sharp knives when helping me with dinner because I am comfortable with large knives and with my ability to assess whether the kids are using them safely. Is that similar?
The difference is that Tony Hawk is a role model to parents and kids alike. I'm not sure that means that he has to always be behaving to the highest standards, even though I wish he (and everyone else kids look up to) did.
One thing I do know is that this is probably none of my business. But in case you are interested, Hawk posted a photo soon after of his son Riley competing and he is wearing a helmet.
What do you think of the pictures?
Want more chaos? Last year, I wrote about Lego for girls, still not a fan.
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