Will I ever stop worrying about my kids?

I think as parents (or at least just me), we tend to be overly worried about our kids. We are so worried and afraid for them when we should place more trust in them.

Before Ethan started kindergarten, he was a quiet boy. He was a late talker. I was so worried that there might be something wrong with him. I sent him to have his ears checked to make sure there was nothing wrong with his hearing. I even sent him to a speech therapist. But after 2 sessions with the therapist, I found that it was not helping at all and I did not really agree to how it was conducted.

So when I was registering Ethan for kindergarten, I conveyed my worries to the Principal. I was worried that Ethan may not know how to express himself and to communicate with his teachers and friends. Would he be able to converse with the other children? Would he be able to tell the teacher if he was being bullied? Would he be able to stand up for himself if he doesn't talk? I was even afraid that he might not be able to tell the teacher that he needed to go to the toilet.



After accompanying him on his first 2 days at kindergarten, I found that I had worried unnecessarily. He adjusted quickly and went to kindergarten with no problems at all. He was still quieter than most of the kids but he had made some good friends too.

And when he was going to start primary school, I was worried whether he would be all right going to school in a van loaded with so many other kids. I was worried whether he would know how to buy food from the canteen or whether he would have enough time to finish his food during recess (as he is a really slow eater). I was also worried whether he would be able to stand up for himself if he was bullied. There were so many things that I was worried about. And it all turned out to be unnecessary as he adjusted immediately to life in primary school, just like how he did at kindergarten.

But even though I know that I do not need to worry about all these things, I couldn't help myself from getting worried again when Ethan started going to daycare this month. Would he eat his breakfast? And since he is also a picky eater, would he eat whatever was given to him or would he rather starve himself? Would he be able to shower himself and get dressed up for school by himself? Would the teacher treat him nicely? Again, Ethan showed me that he was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He ate everything that was served to him and proudly told me so. He got himself showered and dressed without any help. He paid attention during homework and tuition sessions. He even enjoyed going to the daycare centre. On his second day, I told him to let me know if the teacher beats him or do anything to make him feel scared or uncomfortable. He replied by saying, "Don't worry so much, Mummy." In fact, he has even taken a liking to the teacher whom he said was very nice!

As for Isabel, I am not so worried about her taking care of herself in school as she has always shown that she is very independent. However, as she is a girl, I know that I will always worry about her when she gets older and goes out with her friends. With the big, bad world out there, who is going to take care of her when she is out without me? I think I will be sending her everywhere she wants to go until she is old enough to drive. And even then, she will need to be back home by 9pm or else Mummy is going to call her every 5 minutes until she gets home! Good luck to me on that!

My kids are growing up so fast... and yet, I doubt I will ever stop worrying about them.... even when they have children of their own.