Originally Posted by
mr_bill
If that is the most dangerous junction in Groningen we could use more such dangerous junctions around here.
The child is the canary showing that there is little danger in that coal mine.
That child is an experienced cyclist, has probably been cycling for 5 years and well over 5000 kms and is not happy having to cycle with his mother this time. You can wait till kids get older, but without experiences they're not going to get much wiser. Growing up is an activity, not a wait.
Maybe it's the safe infrastructure that makes this crossing dangerous, we expect predictable, transparent crossings and this one has a surprise, a bus lane and we have to guess which direction the bus could be coming from.
Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
Agree with @
Stadjer that kids can handle it. Or... they can handle 95% of the infrastructure in The Netherlands and much of it in Denmark, Finland, Sweden, etc. We in the U.S. have a habit of infantilizing our children (and young adults) and this isn't good for them. We over protect them and that doesn't leave them well prepared for the real world. In Tanzania it's quite normal for a 9-year-old Masai to take a small heard of cows out to feed by themselves. They'll walk several miles with them to find food and water. 8-year-old street kids in India manage to figure out how to survive on their own. Our kids are not inherently less capable nor dumber, just ignorant and over-protected.
Check:
Free Range Kids
There are concerns about parents and teachers overprotecting children here too. I think cycling slowed that trend, as it teaches parents of young children to accept risks. It's not like the parents don't think about the dangers of cycling, but it's one the first decisions on risk they'll have to make and it's one those things they tend to do as their parents did with them and as other parents with children in the same age do.