Little Miss Independent

Olivia and Dexter are always quite alarmed and concerned when they see other children without a grown-up in sight, and are always quick to tell me. It concerns me too sometimes when I perceive the child to be much younger than my two. However I'm not sure if I'm being too over-protective as they know that they can never go out of my sight or my husband's. It seems to me that there is a very fine line between being over the top protective and negligent. I know they need their independence but I'm not ready to let them go and play without knowing exactly where they are just yet. Perhaps this is my issue and this holiday I tried to deal with it a little by letting Olivia race me back to the 'holiday home' (aka caravan) with us each going a different route.

The above blip is her racing back from the swimming pool with her towel flying behind her. She loved that she beat me!

We also hired bikes today including one for Dexter with stabilisers. It wasn't my intention but he got really upset when he saw that we all had bikes and he didn't want to just sit in the baby seat on the back of my bike, so hubby got one for him too. He was absolutely made up and cycled up and down the path outside our place with a huge smile on his face. Olivia kept asking if she could go off on her own on the bike like other kids so I explained my concerns such as if she had an accident I wouldn't be there to help her, other cars and road users such as pedestrians and cyclists and so on. She listened carefully and so we devised a circular cycle route that didn't involve crossing roads that she could do on her own and I could take short cuts to check on her. She coped so well that we extended the loop and she later said that the cycling was one of her favourite things of the whole holiday.
I love how excited she was about the cycling and seeing her confidence grow, although she is now pestering me for a bike with gears!