Tarzan

Trey decided he wanted to climb a tree yesterday, so we went out in the back yard and with a little help from yours truly he clambered up onto a branch. Our trees really aren't made for climbing, so he clung stubbornly to the limb, declaring that he was a monkey like Boots (from "Dora the Explorer").

This is the first time that he has attained heights of more than 6', so I was the cautious dad, making sure that he didn't take a tumble. At first, I stood at the base of the tree making sure that he was OK. Then, I thought of when I was his age. For whatever reason, I think parents today are more protective than they used to be when I was a kid. I was jumping off the roof of my house with a trashbag, thinking that it would function as a parachute. The response I got was, "walk it off. You'll be OK". I did more crazy things as a kid, but I survived.

Today, parents sit anxiously on the sidelines of the playground, worrying that poor "Johnny" or "Susie" will fall and get a boo-boo. Relax, let kids be kids. Guess what? No matter how stressed out you get, how careful you are, you're still going to be taking your kids to the emergency room. They will still stick peas up their noses, jump from great heights, shoot each other with BB guns, get chased by mean dogs, throw snowballs at passing cars and whatever else comes to their minds. You live and learn.

So, I backed off and let Trey do his thing. He did pretty good actually, even to the point of swinging off a branch and dropping to the ground. He'll be OK.