I definitely intend to give my future child a lot of independence and outdoor roaming experience. I loved exploring natural spaces as a kid, and wandered far and wide. At four I happily climbed trees three or four stories tall and looked down at all the 1 floor buildings around. I loved volunteering at the historical farm near my home, working with the draft horses, milking the cows, playing on the haystacks in the barn. I have fond memories of my grandpa teaching me to drive his small tractor on his little farm when I was around 9. My younger brother was somewhat less adventurous than me as a child, and has been rather a helicopter parent with his 3 year old so far. Hopefully he’ll lighten up a bit over the next couple years.
There is certainly some trade-off point though. I also had friends who were even more adventurous than me as teenagers, and some of them came to unfortunate ends. I think that being more free to explore when I was younger helped teach me caution and a sense of my own limits that served me well in my teenage years.
I definitely intend to give my future child a lot of independence and outdoor roaming experience. I loved exploring natural spaces as a kid, and wandered far and wide. At four I happily climbed trees three or four stories tall and looked down at all the 1 floor buildings around. I loved volunteering at the historical farm near my home, working with the draft horses, milking the cows, playing on the haystacks in the barn. I have fond memories of my grandpa teaching me to drive his small tractor on his little farm when I was around 9. My younger brother was somewhat less adventurous than me as a child, and has been rather a helicopter parent with his 3 year old so far. Hopefully he’ll lighten up a bit over the next couple years.
There is certainly some trade-off point though. I also had friends who were even more adventurous than me as teenagers, and some of them came to unfortunate ends. I think that being more free to explore when I was younger helped teach me caution and a sense of my own limits that served me well in my teenage years.