Cheryl and I raised four sons and our home was an active, exciting place. I tell everyone we had more fun than we deserved. But with four young boys, it was easy to focus on controlling the moment. And this is probably what people had in mind when they asked Cheryl, “How did you survive four boys?”
Parents today are increasingly aware of the challenges in protecting their kids from harm. Physical safety is huge business—childproof locks, car seats, pool alarms, stairway gates, outlet plugs. My wife continually talks to the grandchildren about safety. “Grammy wants you to be…” She pauses as they say in unison, “Safe!”
We all agree physical safety is a critical part of parenting. But, another kind of safety is more elusive and no product on a shelf can produce it—emotional safety. This only requires one thing—parents. Nothing can create a sense of emotional safety for our children like we can.