Parenting Outside The Lines

Parenting the Special Family From Diagnosis to Real Life

  • Home
  • Special Needs Parenting
  • Diagnosis
  • Global Disability Parenting
  • The Book
  • Resources
  • About Me

The Things We Fear

November 7, 2013 By admin 2 Comments

Picture

The five top things I fear for my children are these:  Being hurt in an accident, being hurt or assaulted by someone, being bullied, a terrible illness, getting lost.  This is what I came up with about five minutes after waking up this morning.  Why, I have no idea.  Not the best way to wake up, thinking about how helpless you are to protect your children from the scary things in life – but that’s how I chose to start my day.

It is terrifying to love people so much and to feel so helpless to protect them.  You want to put up a safety net to protect them from every fall life has to throw at them.  Of course, we all try to keep our kids safe, to limit the amount and magnitude of dangers that can happen.  But we have to admit at some point we are powerless, and that feeling of being powerless is debilitating when you let it get to you.

The reasonable (after a cup of coffee) self says that your job is to protect them as best you can, and to give them the tools to be strong and know what to do in the face of something scary.  Build their internal strength and they will be able to fend off most of the list.  But what about the kids who cannot defend themselves.  The kids with disabilities who are slightly more helpless and vulnerable to the top five list?  How do we let them go out into the world without us when we just don’t know?  Will they be able to fend for themselves against the bad?  Will their weaknesses being taken advantage of?

It makes the basic parenting fears someone seem magnified by a hundred, and without that feeling of “there is something I can do” that saves us from climbing back under the covers permanently.

What is the answer?  Raise our kids with as much internal strength as a person can have?  Tell them about the scary things, so they know how to spot them?  I just don’t know?


Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Filed Under: Special Needs Parent

« What are you, like, trying to, like, say?
Savor Every Minute »

Comments

  1. K says

    November 8, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    Such a tough question, and there’s no easy answer. Speaking as a person with a disability, I will say that I’ve been bullied before and my CP makes life more difficult sometimes, but I will also say that it has given me internal strength…As I’ve gotten older and more comfortable with who I am, I feel as though my spirit has gotten stronger to compensate for my physical weaknesses. I know this might not comfort you much, and I think that every parent worries about these things, but just know that it will be okay. (: Your children have an incredible family to support them!

    Reply
  2. Patty says

    November 11, 2013 at 4:10 pm

    K
    Thanks for your words. I am so scared for her future, but hearing that it will be ok from someone who has been there means more than I can say. And you are right. My worries are no different than every other parents, and I think my Shea has a special strength that will just get stronger as she gets older. I hope so!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badgeShow more posts

Hi, and thanks for stopping by and joining me in this crazy, interesting life of parenting a special child.
Days may be long, but never boring - and I look forward to all of the amazing things that this kind of life, living outside the lines, will bring. More…

Follow Me

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Subscribe!

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive new posts in your inbox!

Top Posts

  • Elearning Virtual disAbility Awareness
    Elearning Virtual disAbility Awareness
  • Our New Normal - Elearning
    Our New Normal - Elearning
  • The Myth of the Superhero Mom
    The Myth of the Superhero Mom
  • Sharing Stories of Parenting the Special Needs Child Around the World
    Sharing Stories of Parenting the Special Needs Child Around the World
  • Please stop learning at my daughter's expense
    Please stop learning at my daughter's expense
  • I Want My Kids to Think I Matter
    I Want My Kids to Think I Matter

Categories

Archives

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive new posts by email.

Copyright © 2023 Parenting Outside the Lines· Built on Genesis Framework · by Beyond Blog Design using WordPress · Log in