Balance Beam

My daughter has a balance beam at her preschool. She loves it...most of the kids do. One day I looked outside and her dad had rigged a balance beam of sorts for her. They were having such fun I had to leave dinner prep and snap some quick pictures.

Yes, this is 2 coolers, 2 wooden beams & 1 piece of slate

Our dog TJ was happy to play along as well...

Can't you hear the sqealing laughter and the playful bark?!

I wasn't excited about the apparent haphazardness of this not-so-solid construct. But logistically the end pieces would only slide off onto the ground and she was barely a foot off the ground. I gave in to the sounds of laughter and the sight of her in her 2 dresses and skirt.

"Watch me, Mama!"

"I'm going to try it myself, watch"

Sometimes it's important to balance our fears with most-likely outcomes versus worse-case outcomes. And to remember that while we want to protect them from pain, we also  want to help them develop a sense of themselves, their capabilities, their limitations, and their ability to get up and try again. And also to remember that not everything has to be beautiful and perfect in order to have value!

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