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Hi everyone, Melissa here. Welcome to CloudMom. So, talking to...ahhh...I'm all bumbled up,
it's the morning, I'm sorry, cup of coffee, one second. Okay, deep breath, alright, talking
today about swimming lessons with my boys. There's been so much talk lately about overparenting
and helicopter parenting, and how we all intervene too much. And I just wanted to sort of relate
this experience I've been having over the past two weeks, where my boys have been in
day camp with their cousins. And it's just been a funny thing, because they've all swam
for many years, and on the first day they're in a lake at this day camp. They'd never really
swam in a lake too much, you know, we live in the city. And they were all put in the
same swimming group, the Turtles. And on the first day, my oldest son, my second son, come
home and they're very upset. They say, you know, they had this test, and "we were put
in the Turtles with all the baby kids who can't swim." And meanwhile, my 5-year old
is like, "Mommy, I think the Turtles is a good group for me. I think I'm okay in the
Turtles." And I just thought it was so cute. And my older two sons turned to me and they
asked me, "Can you please call the camp? Call the camp and tell the camp that we're in the
wrong group!" And so, in my brain is going, "Ding, ding, ding, overparenting. Don't intervene.
Let your child fight his own battles!" So more because I was busy than anything else,
I actually didn't do anything. I'm like, "Let's see how this whole thing plays out." So they
keep complaining, they're not even learning to swim, ugh. So second week comes by, and
the first child moves up to the group that's called the Dolphins; and the second child
is still in the Turtles. So he comes home, he's like this...you know he's very upset.
And I told him you just have to keep working and you'll get better as a swimmer. We all
have to learn things and it takes time. That's all I said. So he did complain about it. Third
week he says, "You know Mom, I made the Dolphins, but they didn't have room." And I'm like,
"Oh really Lachie, that's funny!" And his brother's like, "That's not true! They would've
made another group." And I'm like telling his older brother to be quiet. But I still
said to him, "You know what, you're going to get better and better, the more you swam.
The important thing is you're outside, you're having fun, you're moving your body," all
that stuff. So he's really hoping to make it into the Dolphins next week. And I thought
that this was one example of hopefully not intervening, and allowing my kids to fight
their own battles. So comment below and let me know whether or not you think that I did
the right thing. Thanks for watching.