When you have 2 little people you are always balancing up between independence and caution, sometimes all I seem to say all day is - careful, careful, careful. Caleb loves to run ahead stretching out those little legs of his and it is my job to nag and make sure he is kept in check. One day the little voice in my head said "Stop giving him a hard time, he wont cross a road, let him go". We walk along a busy road and people have those high brick fences to help keep out the noise. All I saw was lights, reversing lights on a car that can't see anything because of those stupid fences. "STOP" I screamed. Caleb froze like the deer in headlights and ducked. He couldn't have lined up his head more perfectly with the bumper bar. Thankfully the driver heard me and slammed on the breaks. Never so scared in my life. Caleb doesn't run ahead anymore. I lived a fear, only briefly that I will never forget. Now I nag in full justification. Careful. More words and pictures at Pip's
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7 comments:
Oh, oh, oh! I know those heart in the mouth moments! I really would love to know where precisely that fine line lies - where too much 'careful!' is suffocating and too little becomes a fraught-with-danger spreading of the wings. (aargh!)
Such a hideous, never want to feel that again feeling!
Great post Cindy. My little guy likes to run ahead too, and I am always calling out to be careful. Scary stuff. He too, almost got hit by a car who couldn't see him. Thankfully I wasn't too far behind and I pushed him out of the way. ERGH!
Those heartstopping moments are the worst...you never forget them. :( So happy it ended safely for you all.
Theres a woman (can't remember her name, have had 2 pregnancies) who wrote a great book on helping kids develop authentic self-esteem - basically, the idea that you have to allow them to dice with danger a little to learn their limits, and feel secure in their ability to cope and make decisions. It's a tough call in an era of helicopter parenting...
That said, I think you have to let them go wild a bit so that when you do scream 'STOP!!!' they really hear you, and really react.
Nice work!
oh gosh how nerve wracking!
PHEW! thank god this is a happy ending story. poor mummy what a sliding doors moment
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