Connor met a new friend at the playground today who taught him how to climb up the outside of the rope bridge. His new friend — a first-grader — is clearly more of a risk-taker than he is, although Connor was totally stoked to be up on top of the net like a big kid.
Me, I did my best to play it cool and supervise without freaking out. My son needs to learn what risks are OK and how to get over his fears — and I need to learn when to give him space and how much — and the playground is the perfect place for that.
Another mom helped him down when he was scared and I was on the ground trying to talk him through it. I was glad for the adult help, but had also kind of wanted him to figure it out for himself. Even though he got help down, though, Connor considered the net-climbing a rousing success and the highlight of his day.