It occurred to me today that yesterday's post wasn't especially useful to people with little kids, because I'm mostly thinking about different questions these days. I do have an old post that might offer some useful tidbits. Stella was 2.5 when I wrote it, and it tells the story of a fun evening on our neighborhood multi-use trail. The game that we were playing meant that some of the time she was out of sight behind my back (roaring at me, though, so I was in no doubt about her location), and some of the time she was running ahead of me on the trail. We were on a stretch of the trail where there were no intersections and few other visitors, so we didn't have to worry about cars or bikes. We could hopscotch back and forth for a bit before we got close to the busy road, where I was sure to take her hand and remind her about watching for cars. It's easy to view a toddler who is running away from his mom as an emergency waiting to happen -- and sure, it can absolutely be an emergency -- but it doesn't have to be.
(Also in that post: the importance of family culture in encouraging kids to get around on foot, the value of older siblings looking out for younger siblings (and incidentally giving mom just the tiniest heart attack), and the motivational merits of a neighborhood ice cream shop. I fear I keep saying the same three things again and again in this category, but let's just move onward and not linger over that question, okay?)
It might also be worth thinking when your kids are small about the activities you want them to be involved in when they're bigger. I am a big fan of Boy Scouts, because it's youth-led and outdoor-focused. The grownups might prefer it if kids didn't love to set things on fire, but many kids do love to set things on fire. A good Scout troop will say, Sure, you can set that thing on fire -- but not the other thing. Sure, you can use a big knife -- just use it sensibly. Go ahead, dig yourself a big hole -- just fill it in later. The contrast in my mind is travel soccer, where the coaches run the practices and the participants spend big chunks of their weekends in unfamiliar towns. There are all kinds of good reasons to do traveling sports teams, but there are drawbacks as well. I think it's worth seeking out activities with adult mentors who will encourage kids to be self-directed and to explore safely.
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