None of us wants our loved ones to experience any harm, but we have to let them lead their lives. Spending our time worrying and trying to prevent them from doing what they want is a real risk in itself and will keep us worrying all the time.
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Everything, absolutely everything, has a risk associated with it. Some people become racked with fear over the possible dangers for themselves, their loved ones, and their children.Think about this for a moment: over the last seven years fear of crime has dramatically risen, while the actual crime ratehas fallen.
People have become more afraid even as they have less to be worried about. The danger, as Franklin Roosevelt once suggested, is that the fear can become worse than the thing feared.
Not leaving the house or keeping the kids from playing a sport or avoiding other things because we are afraid is no solution for possible danger. It is only a different danger.
While we certainly need to make sensible decisions, we need to consider the downside of avoiding the things that make life worthwhile.
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Studies of thousands of parents found that there were negatives associated with being very protective, including increased time spent worrying and a generally higher level of stress. In sum, being more protective does not offer people more life satisfaction
or contentment.
or contentment.
Voydanoff and Donnelly 1998
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