Why older siblings might often be a danger for one

Boy, 12, electrocuted on rail line as friend screamed 'help me, don't leave me'

"His older brother, is heartbroken."

Like all others I'm sure, I'm sorry a young boy has died in such circumstances, and perhaps I'm just extrapolating here as to how such incidents can happen, but I do have relevant experiences to inform me.

When I was a kid around this age, about 11 or 12, I had several incidents where I risked my life because I tagged along with my older brother (eighteen months older) and the friends he hanged around with. I too crossed electrified railway tracks quite often and obviously risked my life if I slipped - I did know which rails were live and which weren't of course. Also, there were several other occasions where I might have fallen to my death due to the places we visited. For example, climbing into an outdoor swimming pool despite the guard spikes to prevent such and climbing through derelict or abandoned buildings where my small size had me drop onto the narrow edge of a balcony rather than step down - with the others there to ensure I didn't fall to my death - it was of such a height. We also used to climb into a burnt-out theatre via one of the ventilation ducts, which also required a bit of climbing and manoeuvring.

It was around this time that I joined the Scouts so perhaps I just left this group quite naturally, and pursued other dangerous activities with some protections in place. But I could well have done some of the earlier dangerous things on my own or with a friend - as perhaps the kid in the article might have done and having learnt such from an older brother.

Did any of you have any dangerous experiences as a child where an older sibling was often involved and perhaps where they didn't do the situation justice - that is, trusting in your competence not to kill yourself even though you might not have had such?

Don't have siblings and lived out in the country, Just about everything was dangerous. Milking cows can easily involve a broken foot. Horses have a mighty kick.

My older friend (by 3 months) dared me to race the (supposedly irate) bull across the field, at age 11 you are invincible so i took the dare, the bull was a ***** cat and we became quite good friends.

Swimming in the river could be "interesting". At age 7 those semi sunken logs were crocodiles. When my friend tackled one, picked it up and hurled it at me shouting "catch the croc" it shattered my left elbow which needed 5 hours of surgery and a silver pin to hold it together.

That pin got me in trouble later in life, airport metal detectors didn't like it.

I think it's part of growing up with older siblings. I grew up on a farm, and had two elder brothers, one by a year, and the other by 3 years. The eldest was adventurous and liked to build things. I can probably think of a dozen times when I could have died.
- following him up the treehouse and across the 2 by 8 plank to the other treehouse.
- swimming across a river with fast current and water over my head
- helping him dig a hole in sandy soil deep enough until it started caving in
- jumping (flipping) off the roof of a barn to a waiting hay stack
- skating on thin ice (literally)
- playing with gasoline
- playing with guns

ChristineM said:

Don't have siblings and lived out in the country, Just about everything was dangerous. Milking cows can easily involve a broken foot. Horses have a mighty kick.

My older friend (by 3 months) dared me to race the (supposedly irate) bull across the field, at age 11 you are invincible so i took the dare, the bull was a ***** cat and we became quite good friends.

Swimming in the river could be "interesting". At age 7 those semi sunken logs were crocodiles. When my friend tackled one, picked it up and hurled it at me shouting "catch the croc" it shattered my left elbow which needed 5 hours of surgery and a silver pin to hold it together.

That pin got me in trouble later in life, airport metal detectors didn't like it.

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And there was I thinking that life in the countryside was all milk and honey.

Vinayaka said:

I think it's part of growing up with older siblings. I grew up on a farm, and had two elder brothers, one by a year, and the other by 3 years. The eldest was adventurous and liked to build things. I can probably think of a dozen times when I could have died.
- following him up the treehouse and across the 2 by 8 plank to the other treehouse.
- swimming across a river with fast current and water over my head
- helping him dig a hole in sandy soil deep enough until it started caving in
- jumping (flipping) off the roof of a barn to a waiting hay stack
- skating on thin ice (literally)
- playing with gasoline
- playing with guns

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I had two older brothers, and it was the middle one I was referring to. If I had hung out with the eldest, perhaps things would have been even worse. He did emigrate to Australia, perhaps anticipating being deported, after some of the things he has admitted doing.

Seems you had more than enough going on in your life too.

We didn't have guns to play with but we made up for it by playing around with fireworks and such.

Mock Turtle said:

And there was I thinking that life in the countryside was all milk and honey.

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Yeah, right. Simple lack of street lighting (not as bad now) is a danger.

Mock Turtle said:

I had two older brothers, and it was the middle one I was referring to. If I had hung out with the eldest, perhaps things would have been even worse. He did emigrate to Australia, perhaps anticipating being deported, after some of the things he has admitted doing.

Seems you had more than enough going on in your life too.

We didn't have guns to play with but we made up for it by playing around with fireworks and such.

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Oh yeah, I forgot about firecrackers. I think there is a line somewhere versus kind of dangerous, and really dangerous. My little brother nearly killed himself with fire when he spilled the gas on his pants and they lit up. Lucky for him the cattle watering tank was just metres away, and he dove in there. He still was hospitalised. One of the safety nets was to play dangerously in pairs or groups. That guy was playing with gasoline by his stupid self. The time I followed the older brothers across the river in strong current, I screamed and they returned to rescue me. Had I been totally alone, I may well have drowned.

Vinayaka said:

Oh yeah, I forgot about firecrackers. I think there is a line somewhere versus kind of dangerous, and really dangerous. My little brother nearly killed himself with fire when he spilled the gas on his pants and they lit up. Lucky for him the cattle watering tank was just metres away, and he dove in there. He still was hospitalised. One of the safety nets was to play dangerously in pairs or groups. That guy was playing with gasoline by his stupid self. The time I followed the older brothers across the river in strong current, I screamed and they returned to rescue me. Had I been totally alone, I may well have drowned.

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Some of the older kids seemed to have battles with the fireworks that periodically emitted further ones that then went bang. And I can remember an almost empty petrol can being thrown on a fire as we all sensibly ran for cover before it exploded. Oh such jolly times.

We aren't supposed to discuss anything illegal on RF so I will refrain from what I did as a child in this regard.