This afternoon my teenage daughter got really scared. The kind of down-to-your-toes spooked that shakes you to your core.
I was with her at the time and it really was disturbing, but I found myself in a dilemma. Do I acknowledge that it was scary so she understands that her judgement is spot-on? Or do I act more reassuring and let her know that it really was safe because I was there to be mama and protect her?
Comfort (as all Mama’s want to do) or Reassure (so she builds confidence in her own judgement)?
If my child were younger, this would not be a hard decision for me. I would obviously choose to give her a sense of security at the expense of reassuring her that her instincts were correct.
But she is a teenager. I need her to gain more and more self-reliance. She already knows there is true evil in the world. She also knows that her father and I will protect her to our last breath. But I think she needs to know absolutely to trust her instincts. Those are the first alert system that will protect her as she goes through life.
And so I opted for a bit of both.
What would you do?