MY best friend didn’t mean it when she broke my finger. 

An enthusiastic “high five” between a couple of 12-year-olds went astray and bent my finger back 120 degrees. I still look at my slightly misshapen finger fondly, though it hurt like hell at the time.

However, I still cringe when I gaze down at the scar across my calf from falling over the school bike rack while trying to walk and read simultaneously. And there’s the just-visible burn on my right hand, the result of a home economics class that went horribly wrong.

I have no idea how many times I twisted my ankle and was on crutches, or suffered a sprained wrist while trying to catch a cricket ball or netball. I recall I was nearly decapitated at my one and only hockey game.

Accident prone maybe, but I got through my childhood pretty lightly.

These days there are greater efforts to make schools provide a safe, healthy environment for children. Play equipment is much safer and the hard asphalt has been replaced with springy rubber stuff.

That all makes perfect sense, but sometimes the fear of litigation can trigger policies and interventions that leave one wondering if the trend towards a nanny state isn’t going a bit too far.

The latest example is the recent ban imposed on cartwheeling at Drummoyne Public School in Sydney. Cartwheels, handstands and somersaults are now only permitted there while children are under the supervision of trained gymnastic instructors.

I understand the school’s concerns. It only takes one accident and a litigious parent and it’s a lawyer’s picnic. But let’s be realistic.

My husband was once summoned when our son cut his knee at school. Staff wanted formal advice whether only a Band-Aid was required!

My six-year-old does acrobatic gymnastics. She loves her cartwheels and handstands. At school she’s always swinging on the monkey bars. There’s no doubt she’d get hurt if she came a cropper doing any of these, but my girl and her older brother are healthy, active kids. They want to run and jump; and occasional trips, tumbles and falls are part of life.

Truth is, I’m very happy that my kids are hugely into sport, exercise and physical activity and that they’re doing what kids do – “playing”!