Letting Our Children Interact With A Normal Environment

The human race has survived because we nurture our children for so many years. The danger lies in our becoming so over-protective that while stunting the natural curiosity of our youngsters, we stop their development on many different levels. There is no hard and fast rule as to what explorations we should allow or prohibit. Every parent struggles with this fine balance using his own set of criteria. Just look at how we treat our newborns.

When we receive the precious gift of a first child, we commit to doing our best to protect him The urge to prevent harm is normal and natural. We launch an extensive safety program at home. Suspicion surrounds common household objects if there is the slightest chance that our newborn will suffer because of them. Our focus on the presence of germs makes us determined to protect our baby from them. Hygiene becomes so important that it borders on obsession. Our babies are kept as clean as possible with the use of a baby bath and the soaps and linens used exclusively for Junior. The idea of using the general household washcloths and towels never enters our mind.

When should you start letting your infant use the common family household linens? Sooner rather than later, to be brief. The minor germs contained in these cloths are exactly what a developing immune system needs. Doctors now urge the use of regular soap around the home and workplace. Why don’t they encourage the use of the popular germ killing soaps? It is because the immune system gets stronger with every germ it encounters. It learns how to fight them

Modern child care safety standards are saving countless children from injury and death. First time parents go to enormous lengths to ensure their little one’s freedom from danger. Baby safety monitors are being used to allow parents to keep an ear on their youngsters at all times. Baby’s sterile food supply is sure to be closely monitored also. A mother can use an electric breast pump to express her own life-promoting milk for use when she is elsewhere. Car travelers must install approved child safety seats for their children. These precautions are all saving children’s lives.

It is a difficult transition for parents when the time comes to loosen their total control of the child’s environment. Many are afraid to let the child’s natural curiosity carry them into new experiences. But children must be allowed to explore their environments if they are ever to learn which decisions are good for them. They will make errors in judgment.

Tough as it may be, parents must learn to watch their children try and fail at times. If this does not happen, the child will grow up in total safety. What will he do when faced with danger?

Give your child the tools for the challenges of life by letting him make some decisions of his own about what is a good idea and what is not. This is the best safety training you can provide in the long run.