Quote:
Originally Posted by black_kat22
would you as a parent tell your young toddler that "mommy and daddy will always come back" ???
if you were leaving your toddler with a babysitter for a few hours or even their grandparents or aunts/uncles were watching them for you, is this something you would tell them before you leave??
i have no kids so can't really be an 'expert' on something like this (but do have four nieces and nephews). but this seems like a not-so-good thing to instill in a young child, especially these days when anything can happen and at any time! as in, car accidents, shootings, muggings/car-jackings, bombings, and other accidents or tragedies ..... or is this just something you temporarily tell a young child who hasn't had an 'easy' life up to that point, as in maybe a situational-thing or something that varies from family to family??
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When I was four my mother went for groceries, leaving me in the care of neighbors. She died in an automobile accident on the way home.
I was never concerned about her whereabouts and no one (that I recall) suggested that she was in heaven or a ‘better place,’ but I was angry that no one would tell me when she was coming back. My father told me that she was never coming back. He was right.
It’s reasonable to expect that a parent will usually return but unreasonable to expect that a parent will always return. Maybe a ‘hope to see you soon’ could fill the gap? No, I don’t know. At four I would not have been able to process the complexity of ‘mom is leaving and you can reasonably expect her to return but there isn’t a 100% guarantee.’
This parenting forum is giving me a headache.