Alex has everything under control! I know some of you may have a slight heart attack see Alex holding this plastic tube like thing in her mouth but we don't worry about certain things. For me, and this isn't for everyone I know but I feel more comfortable allowing the kids to learn from experience, even at this young age. If they don't experience and learn from their actions I'm not too sure they will develop and grow the way Greg and I would like and expect them to. Clearly we set boundaries for the girls, we don't let them put their fingers in an electrical socket but we also don't hover over their every move in fear they might bump their head or stub their toe. But who says that cardboard boxes and giant bendy straws are going to permanently damage a child-let them have fun and explore because too soon they will find out what limitations are and set their own- this is a time for imagination to flourish.
I found this little bit that is fitting for this post- I'm not sure who exactly Jeffery Goldberg is, but I like the way he thinks! This can be found in
The Atlantic, in an advice column,
"What's Your Problem?"Ever since our first child was born, I have slept very poorly. When I close my eyes, my mind becomes crowded with worries. I worry about my kids’ safety, their future, college education, happiness, just about anything you could think of. Is there anything I can do to put my mind at ease?
N.E., Atlanta, Ga.Dear N.E.,
Alas, no. You are suffering from an incurable disease called parenthood. The birth of a child is the most transcendent moment in a person’s life. It also marks the beginning of what I call “The Great Terror,” in the words of the historian Robert Conquest. (Conquest was referring to Stalin’s ferocious purges of the early 20th century, which were also terrifying, but not significantly more terrifying than hearing your children say they are off to play a game called “trampoline pumpkin-carving.”) To put your mind at ease, I suggest removing from your home all knives, turpentine, No. 2 pencils, bathtubs, medicine, electrical outlets, chairs, peanut butter, and stairs. You should also try to remember that many of the hazards facing our children are overblown: the Crimes Against Children Research Center, for instance, notes that rates of sexual assault, bullying, and other violence against children have declined substantially in recent years, despite media suggestions to the contrary. But statistics be damned; fear is fear. Only death frees you of worry entirely, and the onset of death brings its own anxieties. However, one advantage of death is that your children will no longer torment you with incessant demands for iPads and Ke$ha downloads.
