Opportunities for Independence

Ever since we moved to Paris, well, actually, since becoming a parent, I've wanted the girls to learn independence.

And living in a city is a great way to extend more opportunities for them to be independent, especially when it comes to transportation.

In a city, walking to places is simple and safe (mostly, those motorcycles are the worst!) and completely new to our daily life, coming from the suburbs.

So, Leah gets herself to school and back. And Alice is walking home from ballet class on her own. (She begged to be allowed to do this, and I am so proud of her doing it.)

Of course I made sure their street-crossing skills were good, understood the way home and all the stranger-danger stuff. Plus, Leah sometimes walks with a friend and lately she's been stopping for a chocolate croissant on the way home. It's absolutely great.

It's these opportunities, to get themselves to and from places, that I can't give them in suburbia. But it's just the thing to show them what they're capable of and build trust. "I trust that you can handle this responsibility," is a pretty powerful thing to say to a kid.

To further support this lesson of independence, I just finished reading a book about Dutch parenting and giving kids ample independence at a very young age is a hallmark of their childrearing style. (The book is called "The Happiest Kids in the World" and it's a pretty quick, fun read.)

We're looking for more ways for them to assert their independence around the apartment and beyond, and the more we do, the more we see them mature around it. Praise be those precious (and fleeting) parenting moments when it all seems to be working.

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