Tacklenappy

I read with interest that Drew Petrie is poised to play footy instead of attend the birth of his second child. We know it’s about personal choice but any sports person thinking of playing on instead of attending the birth, I think you’re making a big mistake. 

On Tuesday I took a day off to take Kid X to the Playschool concert at the Ivanhoe Town Hall. It lead to one of those rare parenting moments that help you understand why you put up with all the crying, screaming, being told to go to work and being ignored when you come home after a stressful day at work.

Let’s get something straight from the beginning of this article, Kid X barracks for Melbourne Footy Club. Yep, that’s right- Melbourne, the dees, the old red and blue. She does not barrack for Buddy, the tigers or the pies.

One of the most fun things I do is read kid X a book before putting her to bed.

I watched yet another video from Ted.com and this one really got me thinking. Do I really give my girls enough opportunities to learn? This presentation from Gever Tulley titled 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do (see video at bottom of page) suggests that we need to ease the leash a little to let kids learn. Let them play with a campfire, let them own a pocket knife, let them climb up the wet slide in their socks.

So I started think about what learning opportunities I have given my girls. Sure I let Kid A cross the road by herself, but that's hardly ground breaking - the kid's seven and we live in a quiet street. Here's a couple of examples of where I have let a kid off the leash so to speak.