I used to judge other parents for fawning over their children and being that over-protective, neurotic mother or father. I would think to myself, “that will never be me.” However, now that I’ve had a child of my own, my perspective seems to have shifted. Maybe they weren’t so over-protective after all? Maybe they just didn’t want anything bad to happen to their baby. Ever. I can relate to that now!
Mind you, now my husband is giving me that same look that I used to give to those over-protective parents not so long ago. I know I need to relax a little – I just get so anxious at the idea of letting my child out of my sight. I’m worried he will hurt himself, or could go missing. In my mind I know this is unrealistic. We live in a safe neighbourhood, and although the risk of him getting hurt is still there, I need to trust that he will follow my safety rules and learn on his own.
I have a hard time balancing what is too much or too little protection, so I stared talking to other mothers. They all have their own methods but they’re all relatively similar in their boundaries. This has helped me a lot. Knowing that other moms are struggling with knowing how much is enough protection just like me, and seeing that their children along with my own are doing just fine, gives me reassurance.
The other day my son put his hand on the oven door and burned himself. Instead of freaking out as I normally would when he hurts himself, this time I calmly asked him if he was okay, put a band-aid on and gave him a hug. I’ve come to realize that by him touching that oven door he has now learned a valuable lesson – the oven is hot and it’s best not to touch it.
Being a good parent is definitely a learning process, but there is a lot of information available out there to learn from. All I can hope is that my child will grow up to be a healthy and happy person, and I think that my being a calm and understanding mother will help him to achieve that.
This is a guest post.