I know some of you will be wondering what she meant by safety tolerance, but before I dive into that, I would like you to understand what child’s safety means in parenting. Child’s safety means keeping children safe from significant harm. Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility.
Having said that I had gone to a programme organized for children with different equipment such as bouncy castles, different kinds of rides including crafts, and many more. You know what children are like when it comes to jumping, which then means that most of the children were in the castle jumping and having lots of fun.
There was this particular parent that if it was possible for her to get into the castle just to look after her daughter of 4 year old, I’m sure she would. She couldn’t leave the area where the daughter was jumping with other children. She was literally monitoring the child and her movement, any time her child falls she panics, You’ll hear her say things like, Annie, are you OK? be careful! let’s find something else to play with, there’s too many children in there, You can tell all over her that she’s not comfortable. At some point, I and other parents were teasing her that she was one of those over-parenting parents, and we made a joke out of it.
As a mother myself, I completely understand where she’s coming from with her over-parenting and considering the fact that it was her responsibility to keep her child safe from any form of harm. I would have been in her shoes if not for intentional parenting skills that has changed me. My two children were there, my son, who was literally the youngest in the castle, was competing in jumping with older children, does that mean I’m careless with his safety? Absolutely no because over time, I have worked on my fears, I know my safety tolerance as a parent and I have also assessed the area, the children in there and also putting my son’s ability into consideration, I know he could stand the other children in there and even if he falls, there isn’t going to be a serious injury because of the softness of the castle.
I believe so much in play, risky play, and its importance in children’s growth and development, In this case, it was a risky play for my son and for the other parent whose daughter was already 4-year-old without any special need, was absolutely fine with it because the children there were within her age group.
She’s actually not the only parent in this space, Some go as far as wearing a helmet for their children in the park or playground just so they don’t hurt themselves when they fall. These set of women go too extreme. Inasmuch as they’re trying to protect their children, the child still need those falls, they need those injuries, and they need those tears. All of these are part of their childhood make-up, that is, their physical, emotional, social, and their cognitive developments and will help them all through their lifetime.
Do you know that the play was fun and exciting for the children? this will help them develop their critical thinking skills and it’s a big boost for their confidence. it will helps them build adaptability skills and many more skills. So, imagine depriving a child from all of these great benefits because of fear of the unknown.
Dear intentional parents, I encourage you to make up your mind on building your safety tolerance when it comes to play and risky play for your children so you don’t deprive them of a lifetime of eventualities. Also, you do not want your child to have regrets of I wish I was allowed to play when I was a child. Again, remember, childhood is only once and very short so let your child be a child.
