Most of us trust our kids. We've taught them about strangers, about safety, about what to do in the case of an emergency. And how to be responsible.
And most of us great parents sometimes make choices that others may deem irresponsible. We leave our kids in the car for a few minutes here and there; to pay for gas, when we only have two hands and three kids. To run into the bank where we can see our car from the road. But they're OUR kids. And our decisions to make.
Most of us are smart, and have the same values we've taught to our kids - responsibility, evaluating the danger of a situation and making responsible choices.
And yet, strangers on the street judge our choices, without ever having met us, or our kids.
Trust us. Trust that we are good parents that love our children and want the best for them. Trust that we know our kids better than you.
And if you think a kid may be in danger, or distress, of course, reach out to help.
Helping means "can I help you carry something, so you can hold your child's hand?" "Can I give you my grocery cart, so you don't have to run across the lot to grab one with four kids in tow?" Helping means watching a child for signs of distress. A kid in a car, playing on an iPad in the shade is not in distress.
Of COURSE there are times to get the authorities involved, but most of the time, everything is just fine.
We've all made it this far. Most of our parents made choices that we'd shudder at, yet we're all still here.
So, seriously. Trust us.
