I can’t scroll through social media without being on the brink of tears. Countless stories and posts about freak accidents, illnesses, and hidden dangers in my home. I just want to run and hold my kids tight.

My news feed is full of stories of kids who fall asleep to never wake because of the flu. Along with freak accidents of falling trees, articles about toxins hiding in the chicken nuggets you fed your kids for lunch, kidnappings, sex trafficking, school shootings, and online bullying. Parenting articles about the top ten hidden dangers in our home, too much screen time warnings, vaccine debates, and the five worst foods to feed your kids. You can’t stop but be in this constant state of worry when you have kids. Danger is all around us!

Where is the line between educating ourselves and pure panic?

I’m an overly protective parent as it is. I refuse to let my kids play in the human petri dish of mall play areas, my greatest fear is head lice.  I break out in a sweat every time my husband drives with them in the car. I guess I have over educated myself to the point of panic anytime my kids are not under my wing.

How can I not when all you see these days is all of the things that can go wrong? All the horror stories and the grieving parents.

However, we can’t always protect our kids. They will stumble and fall. There will be scrapped knees and the stomach flu. It’s just kids being kids. However, there is a fine line of protecting our kids from danger and educating them.

My son fell holding a can of soup a few weeks ag, crushing his hand. Things will happen, freak things that you will never think of. All we can do is our best to baby proof and watch over them.

I remember playing out in the yard until it got dark outside. Now, that is a taboo! To many dangers to let kids be kids. Too much judgement! Have we educated ourselves to a point of panic?

I hate that my kids have to grow up in a world where they have to learn “Code Red” drills as early as age two in schools! We have to educate them on the dangers of what should be the safest place on earth.

How is this affecting our kids?

If we are constantly reminding them about all the dangers around them, will they grow up to be fearful too? How much of their childhood and innocence are we taking away from them?

It’s the world that we live in now, we need to be educated. However, there is a line of letting kids be kids while also protecting them.