“Don’t run around, you’re going to get hurt!”

Have you ever been around some adults and heard them say something to a child and wonder,

“Why would you say that to them?”

I am acutely aware when I hear an adult say to a child, “Don’t (fill in the blank), you’re going to get hurt!”. Don’t get me wrong, I do step in when I’m about to see one of my children do something that I feel has the potential to end badly. But more often than not, I’m the one introducing them to things most parents would shake their heads at in disapproval.

I am 46 years old and a proud father of two wonderful children. Recently Amani turned 9 and Ari is 7.  I often catch people around me shaking their heads in disapproval at some of the things that I encourage my children to do. Some examples of things I encourage my kids to do include teaching them how to skid on their bikes, climbing fences, jumping on and off of things.  In this photo, I was challenging my kids to jump from one bench to another.  I tried it first and then helped guide them to make the leap.   

I find that my parental philosophy is being flipped on its head raising two children during a global pandemic.

COVID-19 is forcing me to rethink my approach to parenting.

All of a sudden I am less daring and a lot more fearful. 

I have been thinking about all of the different scenarios of sending my kids back to school and many of them are very scary.  I worry about how this impacts my children. 

Does my fear make them more anxious?  What do I tell them?  How do I tell them? 

Perhaps we need to unlearn what we say to the children in our lives in an effort to not project our fears and anxieties onto them. Health and safety has to be a priority but what and how we communicate to them is paramount.  Instead could we plant seeds of hope to allow them to realize their unlimited potential even during this time of uncertainty? 

Is there something you need to unlearn about the way you speak to or interact with the children in your life during a global pandemic? 

One thing I am certain of is that children pick up on the energy around them.  Are you vibrating fear and anxiety or love and hope? 

Is there room to raise your vibration? You may not be aware of how you are vibrating but the children around you are. 

How are you coping with the back to school transition?  Please share your comments below.