Last week, a boy narrowly avoided serious harm after being hit by a child driving a four-wheeler. His mother, who is the forgiving type, noted that she had no hard feelings against the young lady who hit her son. Instead, she hopes the accident will result in more awareness about safety.
When children from rural Alaska travel to cities outside, they are shocked by the number of things they can't do. There are rules about where you can walk, what you can climb on and who you should talk to.
Children in rural Alaska are afforded privileges and freedoms that children in the rest of America would never dream of. It is culturally acceptable for rural Alaska youth to enjoy independence that is extraordinary.
They use firearms, drive four-wheelers and snowmachines, and harvest game and fish. They are active parts of their community, in many cases contributing to their family's welfare with subsistence activities.
But that only works if there are parents behind these children teaching them. Children do not intuitively have a sense of good and bad choices. While we can advise children about reasonable risk management, that only goes so far.
Most of us learn that tricky balance through experience, but children do not have that same opportunity. And people who study these things say many youth, especially teenagers, do not have some of the gray matter needed to make good choices easily.
Like anything, that doesn't apply to all children all the time. Some kids are very responsible and conservative with their risk-taking, or have had more experiences than their friends.
The problem is that if it is culturally acceptable for children to be allowed to drive four-wheelers, for example, parents may assume that their child, like their friends, can manage the risks associated with that responsibility.
The reality is, many cannot. Speed is fun. Risk-taking is fun. And when you are a child, being given independence is gloriously fun. According to state statistics from 1991 through 2000, youth accidents with snowmachines and four-wheelers resulted in 432 hospitalizations.
Of those, 58 percent of those accidents befell Alaska Natives under the age of 18. In those accidents, 27 percent resulted in traumatic brain injuries and 68 percent of those with brain injuries were not wearing helmets.
State statistics also show that Alaskans have the highest per capita use of ATVs of any state in the union.
There is a delicate balance between being permissive and being protective as a parent. Navigating it requires that you pay very close attention to how your child reacts to responsibility. Monitor their activities when they don't know you are watching.
Yes, I do mean spy on them. Set very clear boundaries and consequences and dole out responsibility slowly so that if they fail, the failure isn't life-threatening for them or their friends. And do not assume that the responsibility you were afforded at certain ages is acceptable for your child or grandchild, because each person develops differently.
Beyond taking careful responsibility for your children and the independence they are allowed, communities must watch out for those children who are being given unearned responsibility. It may seem nosy or intrusive to suggest that another parent rein their child in, but if they are putting themselves or those around them at risk, the alternative could be much, much worse. Difficult conversations are a small price to pay for saving a life.
As a state, we need to also address the need for more education about protecting our children. Too many children are driving around on snowmachines and four-wheelers without helmets in rural Alaska, for example. It's culturally acceptable, but that doesn't mean it's smart. Making your child wear a helmet is a smart thing to do, and more education and easy access to helmets will help parents make good choices.
Alaskans of all ages value their independence, and few would recommend that the restrictions and rules placed on children in other areas make sense here. But allowing children to have too much responsibility only puts them and others in the community at risk. In the wrong hands, four-wheelers and snowmachines can be deadly weapons. They need to be treated with respect. And adults must teach that to their children before turning them loose.
Carey Restino is the editor of Bristol Bay Times-Dutch Harbor Fisherman and The Arctic Sounder, where this commentary first appeared.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.