Children Need Boundaries- Just Say No

A responsible parent understands that sometimes you need to say no to your child. It is not indicative of being mean or strict. Rather it is indicative of great love and care for your child. No is one of the best tools you have access to.

It is not always easy to do. There are numerous occasions that arise in which you want to say yes but in good conscience must say no. I mention this in relationship to Abby Sunderland. Sunderland is a 16 year old girl who is attempting to circumnavigate the world by herself.

“Abby Sunderland’s family is scrambling to persuade any government with an aircraft in the area to help find the 16-year-old sailor, family spokesman Christian Pinkston told CNN.

The California teen’s sailboat was in the Indian Ocean, about 2,000 miles east of Madagascar and 2,000 miles west of Australia, when distress signals started coming from the boat Thursday morning California time, Pinkston said. No one has been able to contact Sunderland since then.

Sunderland began her journey from Marina del Rey, California, on January 23 with the goal of sailing her 40-foot boat around the world solo and without stopping. Mechanical troubles forced her to make two stops for repairs, including in Cape Town, South Africa, in early May.”

I hope that they find her in good health. I hope that she is safe, but I cannot condone her parent’s actions in allowing her to take this journey. It is the once in a lifetime kind of adventure that I would like to do. It sounds incredible and at 16 I would have been happy to try.

But, it is a major undertaking for any person. A major adventure for an adult and she is most certainly not an adult. I would have said no.

I don’t view this in the same light as Jordan Romero, the 13 year old who climbed Mount Everest. He was joined on his adventure by his father and step mother. There was adult supervision, makes a big difference to me.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t wish anything bad to happen to Abby Sunderland. I hope that they find her and then present her parents with the bill. This didn’t have to be like this. Sometimes the best way to love your child is to say no.