Too much protection?

AUSTRALIA: Europeans think of Australia as a rough and ready continent, with wide open spaces, adventure and, yes, danger. Crocodiles, snakes — or even the weather — can be deadly. Some residents of the country, however, are concerned that the next generation is growing up too coddled.

A broad selection of child-safety and baby-protection products are selling well. These include "wireless leashes" for toddlers: a sender in the shape of a teddy bear that starts to beep if the child wanders out of sight and the parent presses a "search" button. Another popular product is removable tattoos that contain the parents’ name and phone number.

Tracy Birch, owner of Kids Kontact in Perth, markets a range of child-safety products, such as tattoos, ID bracelets and the beeping-teddy systems. ''I've got a couple of kids and I saw the need for these when we're out, like at shopping centres," Birch told The Age. "It only takes two seconds — you turn your back and they're gone.''

"It only takes two seconds — you turn your back and they're gone,'' says Tracy Birch.

It seems parents are not just afraid the children might get lost, but want to protect them from the school of hard knocks at home, too. For example, the Thudguard is a padded baby helmet (with teddy-bear ears) to protect infants from banging their head too often. Snazzy baby offers knee pads (in colours including "midnight blue" and "princess pink") to avoid sore knees from crawling. Other inventions include toilet seat locks to prevent the seats from falling and knocking toddlers on the head.

Blogger Amanda Cox of realmums.com.au has mixed feelings about the new products. "Seriously, are we so intent onbreeding an entire generation of kids who have zero concept that there is perhaps a little bit of discomfort in the world?'' she writes on her blog.