One day last week we went to a park on a particularly nice day, and pretty soon after we got there, I was alerted to the fact that Chase had scaled the playground equipment and was perched on the very top of the tallest slide. There's nothing very noteable about this in itself, because Chase has always been a climber, with, I should add, extremely good balance. He could probably have walked on the top of the playground structure all day without incident, but it was pretty high, he's only four, and, let's be honest, other parents generally don't look upon this kind of activity very highly. So I walked over to tell him to get down, and as I did so, a couple other parents went over to him, looking anxious. I sighed inwardly, told him pointedly that he was awesome, but that we didn't want other kids climbing on top of the slide, so he needed to get down - which he did. But even as he was making his way down, one mother couldn't resist saying, without any humor in her voice, "It won't be any fun spending the summer in a cast." Then she leaned over to her daughter and hissed, "Don't you even think about it!"
Besides being completely unneccesary (I mean really, he was obeying me by getting down!), these comments struck me in an interesting way. I certainly know that life would be easier if kids never had any dangerous ideas. I also know that as a parent, it's my job to look out for the safety of my children, and hopefully to impart some sense of good judgment into their thought process as they consider these ideas. But when you have a child who is a climber, a risk-taker, an adventurer, you don't just have a kid who makes trips to the park nerve-wracking. You have a person with an adventurous spirit, the kind of person who could do and discover exciting things as he grows up.
So to Chase, who likes to see the world from on high, I say - Do think about it! Obey your parents when you're young as they seek to guard your life and limb, and listen to good counsel when you get older...but keep adventuring, keep daring, keep climbing!
Feel free to remind me of this when I post about our first broken bone.
1 comment:
so very true. Its interesting how ppl look at traits in children. how come persistence or determination in a child is called being stubborn. Stubbornness just like adventure and curiosity are great traits for tomorrows leaders. Or maybe I am still sore about the parents we dealt with at the park a few weeks ago (who were upset we let our kids play in the puddle)
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