I just finished a very interesting conversation with a friend of mine about whether or not it was appropriate to let her two-year-old play in the garage. She’s asked on social media and other places and people don’t really have an answer. And really after discussing it it came back to the same old topic round these parts, experience.

What kind of experiences have you had with your child in the garage in the past and what kind of experience are they having right now in the garage all by themselves?

And her house the garage is a place where the children frequent regularly. It is set up so that for the most part it is child safe and the children are aware of things that are dangerous. And therefore based on her experience the garage is a safe place for a 2 year olds to be left unattended.

Before I moved to the city I would allow my children to play outside by themselves. Even though I lived on the highway I wasn’t worried about them running into the street. We spent a lot of time outside together and therefore they knew where their boundaries were and even now that we live in the city I allow them to ride their bikes up and down the cul-de-sac as long as they are together. It is all about an experience and the things you have done and have taught your child.  

This leads to a really important topic that comes up a lot when we start comparing our children. Everybody says you should never compare your children and here is the reason why. Each child experiences a different life and therefore has different experiences to build their world on. This is yet another reason why each one of us is unique.

If you want your children to be more worldly let them experience the world. If you want your children to be more responsible give them more responsibility. If you want your children to be more creative give them new ways to create art and express themselves. We are the creators of their environment and provide them with the experiences that used to create a lifetime of knowledge.

~Tara