Keeping Hold of Our Kids
Thursday 17th of October 2013 | Category: Opinion | Written by: Kerrie McGiveronHow do we keep hold of our kids to keep them safe? How much is too much? Should we wrap them up in cotton wool or let them get street-wise?
These thoughts have been running around my mind for quite a while now. Ever since Emily turned about 7 and started asking if she could play out on the street with her friends. She was met with a resounding ‘No.’ But as she has got older, the no’s have gradually turned into ‘OK stay where I can see yous’. And of course now she is aged 10 she flouts this rule no end by wandering to the bottom of the street usually on skates or a bike.
I worry. I am a natural worrier when it comes to my children. I don’t like them out of my sight when they are with me. I always say ‘It takes two seconds to grab a child,’ and this has been shown over and over again. But what to do? I can’t keep Emily as my baby forever.
I want her to grow up feeling confident, but cautious of her surroundings. I want her to realise that unfortunately ‘bad men’ (and women) do exist. But I want to teach her this without passing on my panicked cynicism. Perhaps my ‘wrap her up in cotton wool’ approach is correct? My Mum was the same with me. She has frequently reminded me that she used to feel guilty because all my four year old friends were playing outside on the front and I was stuck behind the bars of the garden gate like a jailed Shirley Temple, looking out at all the fun I was missing.
Alice and Rosie are too young to even ask me to play out. They play in the back garden, or in the house, play school or nursery. I take them to the park, to days out. They are not short of fun. None of them are neglected in that way. But letting them out on their own? No thanks. Not for me.
What do you think? Do you let your children outside? What are your rules?
