When it comes to our children, the first thing we often think about is safety. Most of the articles we read and most of the toys we buy have our child’s safety in mind. We are a very safety oriented generation. How do we draw the line on what is “too†safe?
All of the outlets are plugged, getting into drawers and cabinets feels like cracking a safe, furniture is anchored to the wall, etc. We do so much to protect our children from dangers. Some parents only do organic food, some do not vaccinate, some home school for safety reasons and the list goes on and on. Our generation is very safety conscious and, for the most part, it is a good thing.
My parents did not have access to every article written on safety in the palms of their hands or see as many news articles about children getting pinned under a dresser that fell on them. Mine taught me “stranger danger†and run away to get help…other than that; see you when the street lights come on. There was not fear of the foods I ate, the school I went to or even the chemicals that doctors shot into my body. We never once had a conversation about BPA or phthalates. Ignorance was bliss.
Now that we know all about all of these potential dangers, what do we do as parents. Do we tuck our children away into little bunkers forever? Do we just pretend nothing will ever happen to us? I can’t tell you what to do; however, I think the answer is somewhere in the middle.
We have to pick the things that are most important and most likely to happen and focus on them. After that we have to weigh the risks with each potential scenario and decide. For example, my wife and I are very hesitant to allow our children out of our sight. If they are playing outside in our fenced in suburban lawn, we open the windows so we can see their whereabouts at all times. It may be a bit overboard, but I am most fearful of not being there if something were to happen. Others may be fine with this completely because it is a fenced in area. That is the type of stuff we have to think about.
Something you may have to decide on is something that you are educated on and still not completely satisfied. For example, vaccines are a common discussion in my home. My wife is totally against them and I am a fan of a modified schedule that spaces them out further. We have to weight the risks and go from there.
These are your children and your responsibility. You have to decide what is safe and still let them live a little bit. What you choose will be different from me. That is ok. Do not judge others for their ideals and do not worry about how they view yours.