Thursday, January 28, 2016

Overprotective or just taking care of my own….

I've been told before that I am overprotective.  I've never taken that as an insult and it's usually been told to me by someone who has a very opposite parenting style then my own.  Since the day my first child was born and we brought her home front the hospital I've felt this overwhelming sense of responsibility.  Not just for my children's safety and overall well being, but also that they are my responsibility and not anyone else's (other then my husband's of course).  When I was ready to send them out to play in the neighborhood I waited until I knew they were old enough to not only know when to not run out into the street, but also how to act when playing in someone else's yard.  I'm not saying they were perfect angels every time I sent them outside, but they were at an age when they knew right from wrong and didn't require much correction.




Then there is of course the safety issues.  I don't wrap my kids in bubble wrap and not allow them to do anything that doesn't involve a soft surface, but I do adhere to basic common sense safety (which has also had others call me the over protective one).  You know the basics, a helmet "every time" you are on anything with wheels (you only have one brain and they bruise easy).  Staying in a car seat until you tall enough to not be in one, and then a booster until again your the correct size (both my kids started middle school in booster seats).  No sitting in the front seat of the car until your the correct age and weight (my son is small and the poor kid probably won't hit the proper weight until high school).  Then there are the really, really basic safety issues.  Don't touch a hot stove, don't go anywhere with a stranger, don't play in traffic, don't wear stripes and a print to school (okay, just kidding on the last one).  In my mind there are the basics that we can teach our kids and the just beyond basics (don't open the door when your home alone, always stay in groups, wear a helmet (that one gets mentioned a lot) that we can enforce on our kids, and that's pretty much how I live.  I don't see myself as overprotective, just as protective.


Few things make me cringe and want to throat punch people more then hearing the, "when I was a kid we used to ride in cars without a seatbelt with our heads out the windows while my Dad drank a beer.... and I'm fine" stories.  Of course your fine!  Your drunk driving Dad obviously never gotten into a car accident, because guaranteed if he did your story would of ended much different (or completely ended there).   Everyone can go around spouting these stories of the dangerous things they did as a kid that didn't hurt them and think that means it wasn't dangerous, when in reality they just got lucky!  Seatbelts were put in cars for a reason, helmets were made for a reason,  we don't give lollipops to babies for a reason.  The reason is that enough kids/babies/people were injured or killed from certain things and now we know how to protect ourselves (and our children) from hopefully having something terrible happen to them.  I will continue to protect my kids from what I can the best way I know how, but being smart and taking precautions when available.  I will not force them to live in a bubble and I will be sure they are out exploring the world and all it has to offer.  I cannot protect them from every bad thing that can happen to them, but I can make sure they are buckled properly, wearing helmets, and following basic life safety guidelines.

No comments:

Post a Comment