The one where I witnessed a parenting failure
After dropping our youngest at football training this morning, I realised I was the only parent at the side of the pitch, and thought “this is ridiculous”, so called home, and wandered down the road to get some groceries while Miss 10 ran around the soccer field like Kermit the Frog on acid.
While wandering towards the grocery store listening to podcasts, and daydreaming about all manner of garbage that now escapes me, I ended up walking along the footpath behind a Dad and his son.
The little boy was perhaps three years old, and wasn't great at walking yet. He was holding his Dad's hand, and doing that dancing kind of stagger that little kids do. Right up until the point that he fell flat on his face.
I couldn't figure it out. The Dad had been holding his hand. Why hadn't he caught him ? Is the ability to catch children mid-fall not built into all parents? When our children were little I was always catching them as they tripped – resulting in them dangling from the hand that had been holding theirs.
I thought the whole “parental hair-trigger reaction” thing was kind of automatic if you're looking after children – especially small children. I guess I thought wrong.
My entire world has been shaken.