in thinking that sending 7 year old children to fireworks....

[Eve4Walle]

parties with proper fully-functioning ear protectors (the type that they use for clay-shooting etc) is just a teeny bit precious?

Surely the whole point of fireworks are that they are loud and if the child is too nervy to deal with this, they should watch from inside?

I should have said "bothered anyone", sorry.

Glad to have been of use Mamo.

Mamo, get Peltor ear protectors. DS2 has some bright green ones, they look fetching with his bright orange hair .

My friend has a daughter who has no SN but has sensitive hearing. Maybe the 7 year old you know Op is the same?

MaMoTTaT, remember to put your hood up when wearing the ear defenders, so no one starts a thread about you being precious.

You never know, have you tried it?
My DS loves fireworks and loud noises, he was a marshal yesterday and coped with the 20,000 or so that came. Even the ones with ear defenders.
They did stare at him only wearing a T shirt though, apparently it was quite nippy for some.

Ahem A t shirt on his toip half, trousers and boots as well. Just in case my incomplete description panics some mummies.

Maybe I am being a bit U?

Having two completely fearless kids (seriously, I've yet to find anything that really scares either of them), I am probably ill advised to comment.

YABU. What has it got to do with you anyway?

It may be because the parents are worried about hearing damage, but more likely not. Plenty of children are very sensitive to sound or just hate loud noises - DS used to run screaming hysterically out of a playgroup we tried going to a few times because the music they put on was so loud in the echoey hall. We also had to more or less run away from some of the shows and fireworks at Disney because they were unbearably loud for him. Unfortunately normal earplugs were no good for him either because of his sensory issues in general, but if I'd had ear-protectors I would certainly have tried them.

My son was fearless. I used to look in envy at parents with LO clamped to their leg, whilst mine was hurtling towards oblivion with a grin and no sense of danger.

@ Goblin's correction.

If I had a child who was scared by very loud noises, or had extra-sensitive hearing, I'd think ear defenders were a good idea. Don't forget, children have much more acute hearing than adults anyway - that's why they can hear those horrible mosquito devices and we adults cannot. So something that sounds like a loud bang to us may be really quite upsetting for a child.

Btw, while we are talking about hearing, RNID are running a campaign called 'Don't Lose the Music' because volumes are so loud these days it is damaging peoples' hearing. Apparently we should turn our iPods down and wear earplugs at gigs - they cut out the damaging parts of sound but you can still hear the music.

One of my best friends who loves music - live and recorded was a BIG part of his life - is now deaf in one ear following a gig and has lost the ability to hear music as an enjoyable experience - it's just noise now. Terribly sad.

Should probably add that DS who used to be noise sensitive is now 12 and at the stage where I have to keep telling him to turn down the volume on the TV/computer/his iPod. And he goes right down to the front of the crowd at gigs and festivals.... I would never have believed it when he was six or seven.

Maybe the accompanying adults wantedto watch and hear, and thy knew the child was a little nervous of the noise, but hey wanted to go.

Or maybe there were more than one child - some of which wanted to hear, one more nervous - so ear protectors for the nervy ones so they can all enjoy the evening together.

i think it's a good idea.

desensitize them?

why would you want to make them DEAF?!?

too many things nowadays are too loud.

OP - you don't want to send one of those kids round here with them for me do you?

Someone just across the road is having fireworks and it's bloody loud, even in the house, (not helped by single glazing at the front) and it's giving me butterflies

YABU

I have always had a real fear of fireworks (possibly understandable, my brother had a firework land in his hood when I was around 3/4 in the '80s, so shell-suit material). My Dad always used to stay home with me while my Mum took my brother and sister to displays.

In fact, several years ago, I was so wound up (although I didn't realise it) by the whole thing, that I was ranting at my newly-wedded DH, on the way to a display, that private displays should be banned, you should have to have a licence, that you should only be allowed to set them off on two days of the year etc. I got so hysterical and ranty that my DH slammed on the brakes on a country road, and told me that if I didn't get a grip, he would turn around and take me home!!