…that my son and his friend built. Notice the smile of absolute pride on Boy #2’s face? (Yep, he’s the one in the back.)I could have said no to their little adventure. I could have squashed their enthusiasm with fears and complaints and a litany of reasons as as to why their crazy scheme to convert a broken wagon into a racecar was nothing more than a crazy scheme.
But I didn’t. When I heard hammers pounding in backyard, I let them be. When they asked me for paint to color their spoiler, I gave them paint. When they wanted me to drill holes so they could attach the new base to the wheels — at 8:00 at night, as I was tucking my younger boys into bed — I very reasonably told them to ask the friend’s dad. And when they asked me to come look at their creation, I followed them outside, even though it was dark and I had a million things to do.
We parents tend to obsess about what we say to our children, but good parenting, I believe, is also built on what we don’t say.
2 Responses
Great Job on the racecar!
(I try to not say know to their schemes- as their schemes keep them occupied for hours…and because it’s great for them to learn by doing(or failing on their own).. but never turn down a few hours of peace and quiet!)
Good job #2 who by the way no longer looks like the little boy I met 5 yrs ago 😉