Home on the Range

Free Range Parenting.  It's a better name than what I used to call us:  Play-in-traffic parents.  Both Papa K & I have always felt comfortable letting the Bugman widely explore his world and push the envelope.  Now I know not everyone is comfortable with that style of parenting for themselves, and that's OK by me.  But I love allowing Bugman as much independence as possible.  Everyone has their own threshold, ours is just a little further out in traffic so to speak.
Today, for the second time, the Bugman rode his bike five blocks over to the local donut shop and bought us breakfast.  After picking out the donuts and making change, he strapped his bag to his back and proudly returned with snacks for us all.  He is so proud of his adventure.   I'm proud of him and us, as parents, and our wonderful neighborhood.  He gets to have a special relationship with the local shopkeepers.  He learns, in a safe neighborhood and on relatively calm streets, how to navigate the world.  I want him to know in his bones that even though bad things do happen, the world is generally safe and wonderful.  And the donuts are out there waiting for him.

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