Terrified Dad

My ten month old son has just entered that phase where he now has the ability to kill himself in a hundred different ways every single day.

The parental amazement that your little bundle of joy can get around under their own steam lasts for just as long as it takes your beautiful baby to reach the nearest plug socket and start to lick it.

In the middle of a nappy change my son likes to flip round on to his belly and then scamper to the edge of the changing table where he will rock back and forth precariously, laughing in the face of complete disaster. He is fearless… or maybe just an idiot!

Some would say that their behaviour is based on a total lack of understanding for consequence and this may be true. However, I like to believe it’s something more mysterious. I think we are all born with a little bit of Evel Knievel in us and it’s only time and society that beats this daredevil mentality out of us (unless of course you’re Evel Knievel!).

If you gave any baby the choice of climbing a mountain of pillows or climbing an electricity pylon they would choose the pylon every time. What does that tell you? Probably best not to try to prove this theory at home!

So, what I’m saying is that we all need to be a little more carefree, a little more adventurous in our life. As Gahndi once said, “learn as if you were going to live forever. Live as if you were going to die tomorrow.” It’s a sentiment that makes a lot of sense, you know. With that in mind I’m off to jump 40 motorcycles in a double decker bus.