Childhood Mistakes

I saw this on the MOB (Mothers of Boys) Society today:

"We will always love you, and we expect you to make mistakes. This is a learning process, but we want to help you learn from small mistakes now in order to avoid bigger mistakes later."

The post talks about Internet usage and a contract between the parents and the child. I don't really agree with the phrase "We expect you to make mistakes," because it sounds too much - to me - like a free pass. If you're learning a new skill, yes, then I expect and embrace mistakes. But if you're giving out information or visiting inappropriate websites, no.

But I love the phrase:

LEARN FROM SMALL MISTAKES NOW IN ORDER TO AVOID BIGGER MISTAKES LATER.

As a child and teen, the bad choices I made affected mostly just me. But the older I got, the wider my circle of influence became (husband, extended family, kids) and my choices began to affect many more people. It is hard to live with consequences that aren't only yours.

I want to keep this in mind as I teach Raccoon and Robin our family values. I think it's a good way to help Raccon in particular understand why the choices he makes now matter. When he is given access to the Internet at some point, I may use something like this with him.