Safety Suzie

While we were driving recently, Little One, placidly gazing out the window, suddenly FREAKED OUT! She screamed at us to STOP THE CAR STOP THE CAR! And GO BACK!!!! 
Partly out of curiosity, we did.  She pointed at the roof of a building, where two men were standing.

Little One: "Oh. Mine. GOSH GUYS! Do you SEE that?! Do you SEE there is some GUYS up there onna top of that building there?! OHMINEGOSH!"

J and C (confused): "Uh, yes...yes we see them....?"

LO: "GUYS.  Guys, they are way up there with no mommies or daddies or anything. This is NOT SAFE UP THERE! Why are them up there like that not bein' safe?! OH. NO."

We explained to Little One that they were grown ups, and they were being very careful.  We told Her that it looked like they were probably up there for a reason.  It looked like they were fixing the roof.  Little One was so relieved.

LO: "Ooooohhhh! OK!  YES! Yes, them ARE fixing that roof there! GOOD JOB guys! You figgered it out and ever'one is ok! That is just, that is just great guys.  Good work!"

Motorcycle helmets are a must

Let this be an example to you about Little One and Her obsession with safety.  She makes sure all the people and dolls are buckled.  She's on constant alert as to what Little Miss is playing with- is it too small? To sharp? To heavy?  She is on constant alert for things that could make Her allergic, assessing every food item She sees.  She asks questions ALL THE TIME.

"Mommy, is him a stranger?"
"Is him a nice stranger or a not nice stranger?"
"Mommy is that car going too fast? Is it going to bonk some other cars?"
"Mommy is Miss s'posed to go over there? I see some paper She could eat there! Is that safe for Missy?"
"Mommy look at this poor little buggy.  He is so small! Where is his mommy? Is he lost?"

It is a hard thing to figure out at this age.  Strangers are particularly difficult.  For both of us.  Where is the line between being friendly and polite, and keeping our distance out of caution?
Exactly how much freedom should a crawling baby Miss have? Exactly how much should Little One have?  How much, really, should anyone have? Difficult questions.
So Little One, our little scholar, has taken on these philosophical mysteries in a form true to Her style.  An academic research project.
She now totes along Her little purse wherever we go, containing a few tiny pens and a small notebook. This is Her field journal.
When we are in the car, She breaks out the pen and notebook, and announces, "O-K! Ready guys? Can you please tell me aaaaalll about DANGER."
She wants us to list it, like this:

J: "Crossing the street without a grown up. That's dangerous."

Little One (carefully but swiftly scratches a tidy row of scribble from right to left on one line of the notebook): "crossing the street without a grown up...mmmkaayy....got it! What else?"

C: "Um....the chemicals mommy uses to clean the house. Those can be dangerous".

LO (scribbling the next line): "OOohh! Good one Mommy! Yes! Chem-a-culls. Got it. What else? Tell me 'bout some more danger things". 

We go on and on like this until we arrive. She caps Her pen, sheaths Her field journal, and totes it along.  At home, if She thinks of a danger we haven't covered yet, She races to the closet to enter it in.  She's got quite the catalog going.

We try to balance things out a little by making a list of things that are NOT dangerous.  At the end of this project I think we will have a very thorough report. I'm thinking we should submit it to some anthropology journals.  Just as long as we handle the paper gingerly to avoid paper-cuts, watch out for strangers and look both ways before crossing the street to the post office, and securely fasten our seat-belts on the way home.