You will probably notice a funny thing about yourself if you watch out for it. Keep an eye out for how many times the words “Be careful” comes out of your mouth or at least pops into your mind around children playing. It is fascinating to me.
I know I am not alone here. Once I tried to be more selective on when I say this I noticed it in all types of people. Family, neighbors, strangers… they all act like they are a part of a society dedicated on keeping your nugget from ever having a scraped knee.
There are a couple of negatives to us using this phrase too much:
1) We really need to balance this and teach bravery and confidence. Those things are way worth the bumps and bruises… and even the rare stitches.
2) Speaking of those rare cases, I can’t think of any of the times my kiddos needed stitches or had some larger injury that a “hey, be careful” would have prevented. In fact, if you think about it, if we overuse this it really becomes background noise and loses its meaning.
3) You can’t be present and fun and engaging if you are only focused on preventing any and all possible sources of danger.
So enjoy your kiddos and be a little dangerous… or at least don’t be totally lame. : )
Feel like the next post should be on which insurance plan to choose…
Just kidding 😛 I love this advice. I hope to use “be careful” so infrequently that the kiddo really takes it to heart when I’m giving her a warning… but I’m sure it’ll be hard to fight it with all of the instincts to protect her.
Yeah, I can see myself using this phrase everyday with a son. If he has the risky nature Kyle did/does, I think I’m going to be a wreck. But I really really don’t want to be that nagging mom that he rolls his eyes at everytime I give him a precaution. I guess the best place to start is to continually remind myself that he is in God’s hands (what better place?), and always pray for his physical protection.
Amen! That may be something you are able to get right away or it may be something you have to work at for years, just being conscious of it and having a desire to do the right thing is a HUGE first step.