Parenting is a tricky thing. The moment that child is born you're smacked with an intense sense of responsibility for them. When I was pregnant the first time, a friend told me that it's like having your heart walking outside of your body. (In my case, he's running full tilt.) There's excitement, hope, fear, anxiety, and a unending cocktail of emotions that never seem to let up. We all handle it differently. I do not want to be a helicopter parent, but I do want to keep them safe. Personally, finding the balance between holding on and protecting them, and letting them and risk getting hurt or worse, is hard sometimes.

For me personally, it comes down to understanding the risks. What we don't understand scares us, so I try to be involved and learn as much as I can, so I can help him, and soon my daughter.

Here's a video of the hill climbing yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxG9Sdmf7W4&feature=youtu.be

What I loved about it was:

1. He did it.
2. He didn't let the other kids fears influence his own.
3. I had a chance to talk to him about not being the peer pressure guy. The other kids said they didn't want to do it and he should respect that.
4. The other parents handled it well.
5. They all ended up playing in the creek together for a hour or so once he came down from the hill

Congrats BPJ ...
I wish the very best for the boy and his sister



We all understand the concept of (YMMV) and that every person is different !! However, I do belive that even the same person can change through the different stages of life.

In my younger years I never hesistated to drive the 4x4 for work and get in and out of sticky situations and have fun doing it. I even (foolishly) driven a sedan through dirt roads with almost no traffic with little - if any - emergency equipemnt. Now ?? No way. Not even with the two emergency bags in my car trunk.

As I approach 60, I see myself as an extra-cautious safety-conscious semi-paranoid kind of a guy. I have even stopped climbing ladders at home. If the job is simple like changing a light, I ask the kids, if it is more than that, I hire someone.

Back to the kids;
We should teach the kids the difference between playing safe , and not playing at all.


and ...



.. this is a very very important balance we should learn in life
to be nice and social, but be independant and confident in planning our own lives

It is more difficult to instill an adventurous spirit in a child than it is to teach an adventurous child to use good judgment and do things safely. Enabling the adventurous in a safe manner is being a good parent and preparing them for life. I love what you do with your children Bacpacjac. Teaching them to enjoy the outdoors, not to fear it, at such an early age.

"I pray to God he is a "sonic boom with dirt on it"
Your odds are good.

"I see myself as an extra-cautious safety-conscious semi-paranoid kind of a guy."
Developing that attitude is a part of aging, but in a good way.It helps insure you'll be talking the same way as you approach 70, then 80.