Allow For Natural Consequences

Have you ever seen the joy on a child’s face the first time they ride a bike by themselves with no training wheels?  Yes, they may shed tears over the pain of falling a few times at first.  But all that is forgotten when they finally get it.  The pride and joy they feel eclipses the scrapes and bruises in the learning.  We deprive them of that if we are too scared to let them fall.  To use an AA phrase, ‘don’t hit the asphalt’. We all experience consequences of our actions or inactions at some point, whether those consequences are positive or negative. If we shield those we love from experiencing natural consequences to actions, we may be depriving them from experiencing growth from negative consequences as well as the joy they could get from experiencing wonderful consequences.