It seems like ages since I last blogged. Apart from writing something for Worthing Mums, I haven't blogged for two months. Firstly we went on holiday (again) then everything got a bit stressy, mainly because someone at work mentioned the "R word" to me (i.e. redundancy) so I'm currently waiting to hear if my job is at risk. Anyway, I've had a blog rattling around in my head for ages so I'll attempt to get it into words.
Let me start by saying that I truly love my daughter and I'd never allow her to do anything that I considered dangerous, but I don't believe in wrapping children in cotton wool. I've been in a few situations where other parents or carers have leapt to the assistance of my daughter when she and I have been wondering what all the fuss is about. The most common place for this seems to be the playground. A few months ago we were at the playground with some friends when Munchkin wobbled on a step. I didn't bat an eyelid - though I would have moved very quickly if she'd actually fallen. In the meantime, my friend had moved to catch her as if her life depended on it. This started me thinking... should I be more careful? A similar thing happened very recently. We were in park with Munchkin's big cousin, and she wanted to follow her onto the climbing frame / slide. I walked along beside her, checking that she could make it and letting her see that she could grab my hand if she needed to. As the afternoon progressed, she and I became more confident. Although I was still following her as she progressed along the walkway, I stood back, knowing that I had time to step forward if she needed me. The next thing I knew, a grandmother was holding her hand and stroking her arm. Since English wasn't the woman's first language, I was unsure whether she was trying to protect this poor abandoned baby or if in her culture it's acceptable to stroke other people's children. At this point I made it clear Munchkin was with me and no more was said.
Similar things have happened at gym club. Another mother held Munchkin's hand when she was walking over some stepping stones and quickly realised she was too steady on her feet to need assistance. I think part of the problem is that she's so small people conclude she can only be about a year old and therefore assume she hasn't been walking long. She'll actually be two in two months' time, has been walking for eleven months and has the vocabularly of a slightly older child. That's another reason why I give her quite a lot of freedom, I know that her communication is sufficiently good for her to understand if I tell her not to do something because she might get hurt and that she'll ask for help if she feels she needs it.
So am I a negligent parent? I don't think so, but one or two grannies in the playground might have other ideas.
