Jule’s tumble down the hill
Maybe some mothers would call me irresponsible when I tell you what happened to Jules on Sunday.
But the reason this happened, and in my defence, I think it’s really important that kids get outside and get dirty, build a mud pie, climb a tree, dig a hole, plant some herbs whatever it takes really. Kids today are often found behind TV or computer screens, which in my opinion sends them off into cyber space, and I would rather send them of into the garden which is great for grounding kids, brings them down to earth gets them to let off some steam.
We have a dusty plot of land in the bush. Nothing fancy - making it a great environment for me to get grounded (because parents need it too!). Anyway on Sunday Jules, who loves cycling, chose the smallest bike to ride around the farm on, the one she had when she was about 4 yrs old. It doesnt have brakes and is really not suitable for cycling on sandy stoney roads but you know how it is with kids - they want their own way.
So, off we went together. Rupert and I were walking and she was cycling and off she went down a dusty steep road. She really got into the swing of things picked up speed and was amazingly brave. Then she hit a large stone, skidded, wasn’t able to stop in time and tumbled all the way down the hill on her face….she looked like she had been in a war zone.
I felt really negligent as I had encouraged her to head off and that we would catch her up. But, she was really ok about the fall and in fact, I think she was quite proud of herself.
She didn’t brake any bones - but she had hurt herself and bruised her knee which are really just normal bumps and bruises.
Anyway, I got to thinking that falling off your bike is actually a good thing for children and that despite it being hard as a mother, we mustn’t be overprotective parents all the time as kids learn so much from these experiences.