tristan took a nap after preschool today, which always means he'll be up late into the night. so we decided to fill the time a bit by going on a sunset jaunt after dinner. the evening was getting on already, but we went to a favorite spot along the moormans river, where there are some big rocks jutting out of the earth. we walked a path to the top of the rocks and hung out there as the sun descended. there were some lovely red flowers emerging from crags, and we knew we'd picked the right spot.
i learned this evening that i am terrified of having tristan anywhere near a sheer cliff. suffice it to say, i had a very bad dream once. several times i felt the panic rise in me as he pranced and danced upon the top of that big rock. dan and i were vigilant in our protection, and tristan was angry that we were squashing his buzz. he claimed that he was perfectly aware of the edge, but i was feeling driven by fear, and i hate being that passenger.
what really concerns you when it comes to the safety of your small child? how do you get the message across without making them feel incapable of good judgment?
2 comments:
As he gets older, perhaps take him to an indoor rock climbing place that emphasizes SAFETY (they all should, but some are better than others). Once he knows the rules, you can help reinforce them - though hard when he's four.
Tim was an incredible climber and scared me to death - perhaps you've heard the story about how he climbed a shoe store's shelves to the ceiling when he was two. I embraced his enthusiasm and overcame my own fear by learning how to do indoor climbing too - and I love it!
This weekend he's going on a camping trip with school to climb Smith Rock - and of course I'm still a little nervous about it - the risks are different when it's outside. But I'm confident he'll do fine since he's been doing it for so many years.
thanks barb, great tip!
Post a Comment