"Let's go Mom! Please!," my daughters begged as we stood atop the roof at the City Museum in St. Louis where a brightly lit ferris wheel was beckoning.
My girls, ages 3 and 5, were begging to ride the ferris wheel on top of a 14 story building in the middle of St. Louis in the middle of the night (they'd slept most of the afternoon on the way to the city and we were on vacation).
I am not afraid of heights. I usually love to ride ferris wheels - riding the ferris wheel at Worlds of Fun is one of our favorites as my girls aren't quite tall enough for many of the other "grown up" rides. My dad was a volunteer rappel master in Girl Scouts, so I grew up rappelling down cliffs and tall buildings with him.
Yet, somehow as I stood atop the City Museum at 11pm with my two little girls at my side, the ferris wheel was startelingly intimidating. I didn't express my concern to my daughters as they squealed with glee a the chance to ride at night.
As a speech teacher, I've watched many parents plant seeds of fear in their children over the years with comments like, "I'd never be brave enough to give a speech in public." and sure enough their child is wracked with fear on speech day. I've promised myself as a parent not to plant those seeds, so I kept all apprehensions to myself, said a quick prayer and hands held tight, the three of us boarded the ferris wheel for our nighttime ride. My husband and baby girl stood below (still on the roof) taking photos and waving.
The girls had a great time and the ride was one of the highlights of the trip. I'm glad we did it and it's one of those moments I'll never forget. But, I also found myself pondering how much motherhood changes our apprehensions. And, how we should approach these new concerns.
I want my girls to grow up with confidence and courage, but I don't want them to make choices that are foolish or dangerous. I'm thrilled that my girls are brave and eager to try new things, but we also try to do our best to train them to make good choices as they grow up so they hopefully know the difference between being courageous and foolhardy.
How do you teach your children to make "risky" choices? And, how do you calm your own moments of apprehension?
Written by Kristina Light