TuscMoms.com

Do you go to amusement parks with your children? Do you ever get nervous about safety?

Several years ago my DH and I went to Six Flags and the next day the ride we were on malfunctioned and almost drowned people. We were freaked out.

I hear all these stories about rides malfunctioning and hurting people. And it makes me wonder if it's worth it. I can't imagine a childhood without amusement parks. And I don't want to deprive my child. But how do we keep them safe when they're on a big piece of machinery that we have no control over?

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=4884558

I am so scared of amusement rides too. Growing up in a small town, the fair that rolled into town once a year was a kid's biggest thrill (well next to Santa of course). The big trucks would roll up in the late hours of the night and a group of shady looking characters would slap the rides together by morning. I remember as a kid riding one of them and seeing a huge bolt holding one of the ride's cars on shifting almost out then it would snap back down causing the car to jump. Yikes. I also remember going to one of those fly by nite carnivals and riding the thing that was a huge circle and you rode in the car around the loop really fast except the thing broke down with us in it and we were left hanging upside down for nearly an hour. That didn't teach me obviously because I went on to ride a super fast thing on a track with my friends' young sister and she almost fell out of the car, a fair worker had to jump onto our car and hold her in because it was going so fast I couldn't hold onto her. That was the last ride I took.
And seeing the interview with the young girl who had her feet cut off from the ride was just tragic. It scares the heck out of me. I want my LO to experience fun things like that but how do you know what will happen?

Here are some tips for safety at theme parks from Parents Magazine:

1. Have a game plan. Before you go talk to your family about the plan should anyone get lost? Where will you meet?

2. Bring a family photo. This will make it easier for park security to locate your child. Take digital pictures of each child that morning so security can see what they are wearing.

3. Tattoo your child. If your kids are too young to memorize your cell phone number, mark it on them.

4. Check the map first. Start the day off by locating the park's information centers in advance so you can point them out to your children. Also look for first aid and baby care centers.

5. Be stroller-savvy. Do something to distinguish your stroller from all the others, like tying a balloon or a colorful ribbon on it. This is especially important if you rent one at the park because yours will be identical to hundreds of others.

Oh man.

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080703/APA/807030789

OMG. Stuff like that is just ridiculous though. I mean, maybe I'm callous, but I feel worse for six flags in this case.

You ignore signs, you scale one fence, THEN another, and stand under a roller coaster ..what do you expect to happen???

I really have to wonder what was going through his mind at the time. Common sense would tell you not to go into that area if the signs posted said it was restricted. One fence is bad enough...but two....I agree with moozle.