Let my 12 year old bike to the gas station with his friends the other day. It’s across town, passing busy roads.
Later in the day, I let him go to the local roller coaster amusement park, also by himself, to hang out with a friend.
The busy roads will always make me a tiny nervous, but I taught him and I trust him. And, the required, unrealistic parental fear of him getting yeeted off of a roller coaster floats by in my head. 😆
It was hard not to call him, because I love that kid. He’s my little friend, and when he’s not with his friends, me and him are doing fun things together. But I gave him his space.
When he came home for the day, first thing he did was come straight to me and gave me a big hug.
He told me about his day. Love listening to him talk.
After a while hanging out, it was time for bed. We hugged and said goodnight.
Lately, I’ve found myself sending him a message after we say goodnight. I’ll tell him thanks for talking or how proud I am of something he did that day.
In my head, it’s like a bonus positive thing for him as he falls asleep.
I messaged, “Thanks for always giving me hugs,” and attached was his reply.
Where he mentioned “thank you for always letting me do everything” meant a lot. I wouldn’t say he can “do everything,” but glad I’ve struck the balance where he feels like that.
He’s already slowly slipping away into adulthood, and that’s why I let him do things. To teach him independence. Kids reciprocate trust with love.
