Risk-taking & Responsibility-seeking

I recommend you get your hands on a copy of Dr. Ungar's book TOO SAFE FOR THEIR OWN GOOD (published by McLelland & Stewart). Lots of great thoughts and inspirations for parents of any teen or pre-teen.

Yesterday I was in a meeting and the discussion turned to our teens. I had just mentioned our daughter had come back from Costa Rica with the travel bug. She then spoke of her 18 year-old who is travelling in Australia with three friends. Here we are looking at young adults embarking on their life journey as adults, taking on the world and trying out new and different experiences. One of the interesting comments from the mother was how her daughter talks or writes about the incredible people she is meeting. The experience of meeting new and different people in a differnet country. This girl had not travelled a great deal and felt that a country like Australia (same language) would be easier to navigate as their are some health concerns (which had held her back in the past). Now she's ready to “conquer” Europe.

As our children grow and mature, we may be a little saddened to see them leave the nest but happy to see that they have the confidence to go out into the world and explore it on their terms. We parents need to give our children a little rope and freedom from an earlier age to let them meet the challenges that await them.


(Our interview with Dr. Michael Ungar on Island Parent Radio airs on Village 900 Tuesday April 3 at 7 pm PST/ repeated Sunday April 8th at 9 am PST or at http://www.village900.com)