When we kids playing back yard football with the neighborhood, my younger brother would get hurt and go in the house crying. My dad would tell him, "If you're going to play football with the big kids expect to get hurt."
What that meant was if you involve yourself in activities where you know might get hurt, you are the responsible one. Why place yourself in harms way if you know there is a good chance you will be hurt - whether it is physically, mentally, or spiritually?
The other thing is - don't complain if you did it to yourself! There is the matter of personal responsibility. It does no good to say "I didn't know anyone would get hurt!" if you're trying to see who can hold onto a lit firecracker the longest. "It was only a couple beers" "Just taking a necklace or a CD isn't too bad, the store can afford it."
I worked with at risk youth and one young person (who was on probation because of joy riding) said his first thought was, "This will be fun!" I told him that the next time his friends suggested something to do and his first thought was "This will be fun!" DON'T DO IT!
It comes down to personal responsibility. What are the consequences if a kid weighing less than 80 lbs. decides to play football against 200 pound high school kids? He's going to get hurt. Not because the other boys set out to do it on purpose, but because they will treat him as an equal. And he's not.
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