Warning to casual readers: this entry is more for my benefit than yours. Sorry. I know if I don't write it down and process it now, then I may lose this learning opportunity. My mind tends to work that way.
At aerobics this morning, Alice and her cousin Will found their way outside the church building. No coats, no gloves, no hats, with wind chill readings hovering between 3 and 13 degrees below zero, today's high predicted to be 15 degrees. They had been out there only a couple minutes when I found them. Both were in tears and ready to warm up. I have been waiting for this learning opportunity to come, wondering how it would play out. My first feeling upon finding them was joy and relief that they were relatively unharmed. Then I was delighted to see that the consequence for their poor choice was immediate and already sufficient to help with the lesson.
Kristin opened the door for us and we all came in. Alice calmed down a bit and I asked her what happened. We talked about the choice she had made and the natural consequences of that choice...bitter cold, sad, alone, and scared. I told her that the next time she wanted to go outside, she could ask me and we would go together with the right protective gear...no sad, alone, scary consequences...just cold and fun and safe.
Aerobics proceeded as normal. Alice was happy to go home. When it came time to go outside, she readily put on coat and gloves. I walked out the door and she stood back, head down, eyes to the side. Timid. I thought I heard a whimper. I assured her that it was okay to come outside now and she came reluctantly. The memory of so much bitter cold was fresh in her mind.
We got home a few minutes later and the first thing she wanted to do was go for a walk in the snow. Was she testing my promise? True to my word, I took her out. We had fun and went home when we got cold.
The question lingering in my mind is, what did she take from her experience this morning? Will she remember it and think about it the next time she has a choice to go outside without Mom? Is she too young to process this experience like that? I can't tell. I guess we'll have to see.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
Thanks for the blog post. Will, naturally, had a similar experience. As a parent, you never really want children to do all their learning from their own mistakes (especially when the mistakes can be rather large). But knowing how to teach them the consequences of unwise choices when they are determined to experience them for themselves is really tough. Anyways, great post and definitely a good experience to reflect on.
ReplyDelete