I feel like at this stage I have to helicopter to some extent due to food allergies. Other kids running around the playground with a bag of peanuts makes me rather anxious to say the least. I try to remind myself that that is the only reason I am doing it, and it is good to be reminded to stay out of his friend conflicts and other such stuff, as the food-police need for helicoptering can over-extend into other areas quite easily.
It is nice to have articles like this to help remind me what the goal is - to raise an independent, problem solving kid, who can cope with the world around him. As much as I whole-mindedly subscribe to it, it can be hard to put it into practice when you are so worried about the safety (for me food allergies) of your child. But if I conscientiously try every day to let him be his own problem solver, he will be better of for it. I think (since I know there are many of us here with food allergy concerns) the combination of having extreme smarts and life-threatening or life-altering diagnosis makes it harder to stand back and let life skills develop on their own. We feel an obligation to aid- to max out their potential. I am sure all parents do. Because when you see such astounding potential, as in gifted children, maybe we take a much too nurturing relationship to that. Maybe our job isn't to nurture their academic skills so much. Maybe that really in the long run is better left to them.
