Bumps and Bruises and…Bureaucrats?

Despite, or perhaps because of, my children’s allergies and food issues, I want them to have as normal and independent a childhood as possible.  After Mr. Charm was born, I was turning into a helicopter Mom of the worst kind; his health concerns kept me hovering over him constantly, and it was getting to be worrisome for me (and the Geek!)

I stumbled onto Free Range Kids one day, and subscribed to her blog.  I don’t always agree with everything she says (does anyone always agree with other people?) but her point of view helps keep me from taking away too much of my children’s independence by doing too much for them.

Because of her, I let my kids play.  Mr. Charm is a climber, and I let him climb (within reason).  He’s a rough-and-tumble little boy, and I let him be who he is.  That means he falls, trips, bumps into things, and gets into sticky situations sometimes.

That’s normal, in case you’ve forgotten!  I sometimes have to think back to my own childhood to really let go.  Think about all the messes you got into as a kid, and how they helped shape who you became!  Far be it from me to steal that sense of self-reliance from my own kids.

But this post got me thinking…will parents like me who let their kids be kids get called to the mat for it?

I spend a lot of time with doctors and in hospitals now.  Will some well-meaning nurse or doctor take a look at the bruises and boo-boo’s Mr. Charm and, eventually, Mr. Happy have and report me to the authorities?

There is a huge difference between normal childhood boo-boo’s and a child suffering from neglect.  Can we really trust a bureaucrat to make that distinction?

It’s hard being a parent.  It’s harder when you don’t follow the crowd and take childhood away from your kids.

Do you worry more about what your child is doing, or what other people might do about what your child is doing?