Sunday, October 24, 2010

climbing to new heights

the boys are total dareveils. anything they can climb (& most things they can't) they will do their best to reach the top of, & then do something really fun like leap off, wrestle, or dangle head first over the edge.
for a while, i spent almost all of my time yelling "sit down on your BUTT!", but i've since given up & let them climb as long as they aren't in horrible danger. & they now actually listen to me (usually) when i tell them to sit, maybe bc i'm not telling them to sit so often anymore that's it's lost all meaning.
in part, i just don't think it's a battle worth fighting, & i think controlled "risks" are good for kids. i don't want to raise kids who are afraid of a challenge.
don't get me wrong, i do supervise, i just don't want to be one of those parents you see constantly following their kid around, saying "no no" or whisking them off of slides & shopping carts bc they *might* fall.

4 comments:

  1. i'm with you. danger is one thing, but small risks that may cause a bump or bruise as the worst result....not worth the hassle. that's my general rule of thumb for most things "parenting".

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  2. Yep. I had to give up protecting my little disaster from everything. Dh and I are prone to ridiculously stupid injuries. (he once broke his ankle in his sleep. Not sleeping - got tangled in the covers). But the little man was getting pissed at my barricades and I realized he's made of rubber anyways. The only thing (in the house) that I have to pull him off of 475 times a day is the dining room table. He wiped out in a parking lot today, and I just shrugged.

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  3. I'm so with you on this one! And Noah has learned an pretty good sense of what he can do, and what he can't do (physically speaking, not what's on or off limits). And he is more willing to listen to me when I tell him No. I have come to trust his abilities, and while we have occasional bumps and scrapes, he usually doesn't even cry about them now (unless they are bad ones). And besides...it's a great way to let them burn off energy!

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  4. I don't know if it is you give up, or if you trust them more not to get hurt. C is also a climber. Drives me nuts! But I know it is his way of exploring his enviroment and limits.

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