As my daughter ages, I get longer glimpses of vicarious insight into her world – some of these are purely delightful and others are dreadful – both are probably so only because I know the bigger picture, and the consequences. So I feel pain when she comes home to tell me that her best friend isn’t her friend any more. Conversely, I feel pride when I learn that she’s pushed the bully over.

But! Do I do the social win and curb her George McFly thrill for the bully push, or do I do the dad win and cheer on my budding Chopper Reed. I’m not living in a bubble – I’ve seen the parents who reward their kids when they run through shopping centre play pens beating on the weak, like they’re training policy dogs. And I’ve seen the over-protective parents who will retaliate against the nearest kid/parent if their own little Wiggum falls over himself.

I’ve actually had this conversation with my own mother, questioning whether its worth extending child-hood or exposing reality – and actually suggesting that she could’ve toughened me up a bit – but we didn’t come to a solid conclusion between us …

I think the most pragmatic objective should be to arm our children with the knowledge that they can responsibly handle, today, and give them the power to effectively master the destiny that they can engage with.

Think of it this way; Rudolph Giuliani mentioned on “The View” today that when he stood at ground zero after the first WTC building collapse and realised that this event was so big that it exceeded all of the management/response capabilities that the city had – that it was the memory of his dad telling him when he was young that “if you’re ever in an emergency/fire – don’t panic – or at least look like you’re not in a panic. Panic takes time, consumes effort and clouds your ability to find exits.” – that’s what got him through.

Nice post mate.