Stop rescuing your children!

Stupidity is the inability to correctly parse negative consequences. People act stupidly these days because they are so thoroughly protected from danger and negative consequences. Stupid drivers on the freeway are those who seem unable to comprehend that their actions could cause damage and loss of life.

If you were to raise your child to love football, and carefully rescued him from any hard hits on the field, he would carelessly (and stupidly) wander onto a field full of NFL players without so much as a helmet. We would think him stupid, but that would be his sincere effort to play what he has come to understand as the game of football.

By the same token, we’re often tempted to come to the rescue of our children. I’d like to suggest that barring two exceptions, we refuse to rescue our children from their own consequences.

What are the exceptions? First, it would be appropriate to protect our children from outside players and forces that would seek to cause them evil or harm. Nothing is accomplished by allowing evil to befall an unsuspecting person of any age. Secondly, intervention at the last moment to prevent loss of life or limb would be appropriate.

I tend to use meals as punctuation. There is some debate, but I submit that there are far worse things that can happen than missing a meal, so the typical morning routine here includes getting dressed, socks and shoes, brushing teeth, getting backpack and coat ready, and finally breakfast after all’s said and done. Yesterday was the first day in awhile we’d tried the new routine without rescuing them with a banana or sandwich in the car. Yesterday, there was fussing and stalling, crying and tardiness. This morning, knowing that there would be no rescue, things went smoothly. We arrived at school dressed and fed, and confident in our self-reliance.