Do you feel worried all the time about the safety of your kid?
Do you typically tell your kid not to do something because it’s dangerous?
Because I’m that type of person too!
There’s nothing wrong with caring about the safety of your children.
But we are not helping our kids. Sometimes kids need to learn their own limitations. Not the one we project on our kids, because of our fears. That why I came up with this simple solution.
In every circumstance, I evaluate the level of potential risk. And before I tell my kids not to do something, I always ask my self the following questions :
- What is the chance for my kid to get hurt?
- If things go wrong, are we going to the hospital?
If the answer is affirmative, I will immediately intervene.
If it’s not a serious threat, I’ll take a step back and let them learn by them self. Of course, I stay close, just in case 😉
I come from a long way, and I know how anxiety and overprotectiveness can affect the self-esteem of a kid.
My dad was really anxious and overprotective. He was working in social services, and he always came back from work a little bit sad because of what he witnessed during the day.
Has a kid, I believed that danger was everywhere and I always felt scared.
Because I was overthinking every decision, I was not good at sport, and I didn’t take part in special activities with my friends.
I felt insecure, and I had poor self-esteem.
But I knew I was capable of more, and something was holding me back.
That something was my dad’s voice I could imagine when I was overthinking and calculating the risk.
When my first kid was born, I decided that I wouldn’t do the same to her. I decided that I would teach her to evaluate her own limits.
Now I have two precious little monkeys that I love with all my heart, and I don’t want them to feel scared all the time.
Today, I do all kind of activities with my kids. The type of activities my dad wouldn’t have let me try because there’s was a chance of getting hurt.
We love skiing, mountain biking, paddle boarding, and even participate in obstacle races. All those activities are good for children. They learn how to push their limits, while also be aware of the danger. Most of all, they learn how to think for them self, and they feel proud.
I’m too very proud of them.
Now, I want to give back and share. I want to help you to feel good at being a parent.
With this blog, I want to share my point of view, as a dad who always has to battle his personal anxiety for the benefits of its children.
Learn how to create a safe environment, where your children can be the little explorer they were born to be.