Safety is Not a Virtue in Childrearing

It's funny how this reflects my long standing attitude so well: Getting hurt is a good thing for children. Not killed, not maimed, just hurt.

It teaches them that taking risks has benefits, and sometimes has bad consequences. Those are important lessons. Going through life too afraid to have fun, and making sure that those around you have no fun either, is a prescription for despair.

Mollie Hemingway:

I care deeply about my children’s safety. But safety is just one important thing to teach our children. And it’s not even anywhere near the most important thing. Keeping your kids from dying or getting hurt is of secondary importance to teaching them how to live. Safety isn’t even a virtue. If you’re teaching your kids more about safety than you are about honesty, kindness, respect for others, responsibility, gratitude, integrity, cooperation, determination, social skills, enthusiasm, compassion and manners, you’re doing it wrong.