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Parent24 Editor, Scott Dunlop
Ever seen something happen to you in real life but in slow motion? The egg you needed to whip up those pancakes, just slipping out of your hands as you closed the fridge. Or, when you go for a walk on the beach, and you’re warning your kids to watch out for poop in the sand, and your foot starts heading for that landmine... Everything slows down, just long enough for you to think “noooooo”, but it happens anyway. It’s almost impossible to prevent some things from happening to your children, but maybe that’s not so bad.
Here are a couple of “noooo!” moments:
The waiter smiles as he places the sweet, top-heavy milkshake on the table. Your child is absolutely delighted, until a jerky elbow or a balloon being waved sends it toppling into a pink, sticky splash of goo all over laps and surfaces.
Speaking of balloons... Balloons must be one of the shortest-lived sources of fun for kids: “Hahaha! Dad! Look!” (bop, bop bop) “Careful, Jonah, that pointy...” POP.
You’re so proud of those first steps. They rapidly turn into the first sprints: Tiny, slightly uncoordinated legs hurtling across the loose gravel. One foot misplaced, and you lurch to catch your child, even though she’s just out of reach. Crunch. Pause. Deep breath. Wail.
We’re older, occasionally wiser, but certainly more experienced. As parents, we know that certain actions have consequences. We can see the moments of destruction even before they’ve happened, but we can’t always prevent them.
And that’s ok.
Most of the time, the little mishaps are quickly forgotten, and a lesson is hopefully learned. More caution around precarious milkshakes, more attention paid to loose gravel and less balloon play near the cactus corner in the garden.
What will your children remember? Sure, they’ll recall the lurching disappointment of something going wrong, but they’ll remember how astounding it is to watch a balloon pirouetting off their hands, or the perfectly smooth chill of a strawberry milkshake on a tongue.
New experiences may include disappointments, but, more than the momentary pain or loss, children will remember the joys of embracing life, no matter what the risks.
After all, the exhilaration of getting it right outweighs the mishaps.
What are your slow motion moments? Tell us about something DISASTROUS which happened that you were able to predict. Email us at chatback@parent24.com and you could win a R250 voucher from kalahari.com
Here are a couple of “noooo!” moments:
The waiter smiles as he places the sweet, top-heavy milkshake on the table. Your child is absolutely delighted, until a jerky elbow or a balloon being waved sends it toppling into a pink, sticky splash of goo all over laps and surfaces.
Speaking of balloons... Balloons must be one of the shortest-lived sources of fun for kids: “Hahaha! Dad! Look!” (bop, bop bop) “Careful, Jonah, that pointy...” POP.
You’re so proud of those first steps. They rapidly turn into the first sprints: Tiny, slightly uncoordinated legs hurtling across the loose gravel. One foot misplaced, and you lurch to catch your child, even though she’s just out of reach. Crunch. Pause. Deep breath. Wail.
We’re older, occasionally wiser, but certainly more experienced. As parents, we know that certain actions have consequences. We can see the moments of destruction even before they’ve happened, but we can’t always prevent them.
And that’s ok.
Most of the time, the little mishaps are quickly forgotten, and a lesson is hopefully learned. More caution around precarious milkshakes, more attention paid to loose gravel and less balloon play near the cactus corner in the garden.
What will your children remember? Sure, they’ll recall the lurching disappointment of something going wrong, but they’ll remember how astounding it is to watch a balloon pirouetting off their hands, or the perfectly smooth chill of a strawberry milkshake on a tongue.
New experiences may include disappointments, but, more than the momentary pain or loss, children will remember the joys of embracing life, no matter what the risks.
After all, the exhilaration of getting it right outweighs the mishaps.
What are your slow motion moments? Tell us about something DISASTROUS which happened that you were able to predict. Email us at chatback@parent24.com and you could win a R250 voucher from kalahari.com
