(Forgot my camera, so here is my one iphone photo...sad face )
To helicopter or not...that is the question. For me, I strongly believe in allowing my children to learn their own boundaries and to practice fighting their own battles. At the park, as much as I cringe over Ryder trying out all the big kid climbing spots, I try my best to hold back to let him practice and do it on his own. That's not to say I never step in and give a helping hand, but I mostly clench my teeth and let him explore. Additionally, I teach him about sharing and taking turns and not to hit or push but I also like to let Ryder learn to fight his own battles and practice these social skills on his own. I do not believe we need to step in EVERY single time something comes up between our children. This can sometimes make for interesting play dates and uncomfortable park politics as I know not all parents feel the same way.
I bring this all up because there was a bit of a scare today, and as much as I don't want to admit this happened, its the reality of raising kids. We checked out Sandy Beach today (which was beautiful) and of course within one minute the boys were in the water. After a few hours of play Ryder really started to test how far he could walk into the river. I stepped in and tried to explain to him that he can not walk too far out because it gets deep and the river can sweep you off your feet. Well this didn't seem to impact him and he continued to test the waters. I said to a friend that "he is going to get knocked over and land on his bottom and his head will be under". Well what do you know...within 5 minutes this exact thing happened, luckily a quick footed friend was able to scoop him up.
This all got me thinking, should I have taken him out of the water to prevent this from happening, or was it okay that he tested this boundary and maybe learned a little something about river safety today. I would like to believe the later. Maybe some of you would disagree. For myself, I was reminded that things can happen in a second, and we need to be there to support our kids learning, development and growth in a safe manner. I will continue to let my boys navigate this world with my helping hand at a safe distance.