Baby-Proof your heart

If you take a stroll through the baby section of any store, you will encounter several thousand different items related to baby-proofing. If you Google "baby-proofing" you will be flooded with all kinds of websites offering their products and tips on making sure your house is baby safe. There are gates, rails, monitors, locks, night lights, kitchen safety, bathroom safety, the list goes on. It can be overwhelming at times.

The look on his face says it all. (Google Images)

When I was growing up, I don't think these things were as prevalent as they are today, and before that I'm sure child safety was even less of a concern. So why have these things taken over our lives? If I truly love my child, do I have to wrap her up in bubble wrap so she never gets hurt? There has to be some middle ground to the baby-proofing madness.

Even though Anaya will be our first baby I saw both my younger brothers grow up. I remember a lot from their younger days, and I think I learned a few things from those days. Now, they are much older now, but I still remember how curious they were when they began to crawl and walk. One of my brothers was especially adventurous, and he would always find something to get into. We lived at an apartment complex that had concrete steps going up to the second story, and if you turned your back for just a second, he would be up those steps before anyone noticed. Of course, I would quickly run up after him and he would look at me as if to say, "What's the big deal? I just wanted to see what was up
here."

He wanted to board before he could run.

I was not that brave as a child, and I hope my baby girl takes after me. I think just about every parent that has ever lived wants the absolute best for their children. I want the best for my child, and I want her to never experience any pain or discomfort whatsoever. She will never cry, or have any negative emotion at all. I know this is unrealistic.

I know because I know pain is a part of life. She will fall, she will skin her knee, she will bump her head, and she may even have her heart broken. My instinct is to protect her from it all, but I know that I can't. I can't wrap her up in bubble wrap and cotton balls. What I can do is to be there for her when she does fall. I will dry her tears and tell her everything is going to be alright. I will let her know that she is safe and loved.

It's not an easy thing to accept, but the truth is you cannot shelter your child from the evils of the world. You can baby-proof your house from top to bottom, but at some point that baby will have to grow up and face the world. The best you can do is make sure they are prepared to face the challenges that every human being has ever faced. Let's face it, the world is not baby-proof.