Is Children's Development Being Hampered by This?

As a coach, it's one of my dearest, if idealistic wishes that by the time I retire (or sooner) I will in fact be redundant, because everyone will have been so well parented that they have little or no need for coaching or similar support.

By and large, all the parents I know do an amazing job. But lately, whilst watching them, I've become concerned that one key ingredient may be missing in some tots' upbringing, that may (sadly) ensure the future of coaches for many generations.

Now, I get, that as a child-free person, I am on dodgy ground even presuming to stick my nose into this arena. But my status also gives me an objectivity that I wouldn't have if maternal love had made me vulnerable to being scared half to death by media horror stories and governmental pressure.

So, I'm going to take a deep breath and say this anyway. Some children seem to be being so over-protected that they risk not developing sufficient resilience to be able to thrive and survive the knocks and rough-and-tumble of the adult world.

Take an event I was at yesterday. A small child was playing on and around a swing. shefell and bumped herselfin a very minor way, but was already picking herself up and clearly fine, when her loving but massively over-anxious father raced over andbegan a horrified (and pretty lengthy) inquisition into that which had happened.

From a coaching point of view, it's pretty likely that the net learning which this tot received from the event is likely to be: "Falling over is bad, and a danger which I must avoid".

How much more useful, practical, and better for her resilience it would have been if the learning she's taken away from this was instead: "Hey. I fell over. That wasn't great, but now, having fallen in a safeish environment, I know that I can pick myself up again anywwhere".

Just a thought.

More soon

Clare