Jake standing in a puddle
Jake is standing very still so he can watch the ripples float away from him in the huge rain puddle. Is there a child alive who doesn’t love to jump in puddles? I believe that is why rain boots were made for children. It is an instinct we have as children to jump in and watch it splash. It would be wrong to walk past the puddle, it needs the ripples.
Our children are constantly testing rain puddles and other water in their lives, this is how they learn and grow. As parents we need to put their rain boots and rain slickers on them to protect them from the huge splashes that will soak them in this world. It is our responsibility to explain the puddle to them and to make sure they don’t drowned but it is also our responsibility as parents to let our children jump in those puddles! So many of us are very protective and we would like to hold them in our arms and jump for them so they can see the ripples but they don’t have to get wet. Then there are those of us who don’t even notice our children are swimming in the puddles. As always the best scenario is the middle ground not over protective but not unaware. We should be around to watch but we have to let go of their hands and let them feel, taste, touch and learn from this world.
So next time you see a rain puddle let them jump in it and little by little we as parents will learn how to let go. Parents are there to love, nurture, teach and help to raise a child into an adult. As my little Jake tells me so often “Mommy I am supposed to grow up, that’s what God wants me to do!”
Great post. One of my favorite quotes, “keep in mind you are not raising a child, the child is a work in progress. You are raising an adult.” Ann Dunnewold, PhD from Even June Cleaver Would Forget the Juice Box. So hard, but so true.
“It would be wrong to walk past the puddle, it needs the ripples.”
I came across this while looking for a quote for a scrapbook page that has lots of pictures similar to the one you post here of Jake. I chose the above as the inspiration for my page. Thank you for your thoughts. Blessings to you in your daily reflections and how they are being used to share faith through parenthood.