I was just picking my kids up from their childcare when the
fire alarm went off, shattering the otherwise peaceful environment of the
building. The first blare of the alarm took us a little by surprise. The second
blare startled my youngest. The third blare set them all off, crying and
screaming to leave. My 3-year-old had just watched the fire safety video from
the library, and I’m sure visions of a burning down building, fire trucks,
water hoses, and imminent disaster were racing through his brain faster than he
could process the situation. He started to panic and began pulling his younger
brother and me toward the door with as much determination as I’ve ever seen him
muster.
Meanwhile, well-intentioned adults came over to try to
console him. “Don’t worry, kiddo,” they said. “It’s just a fire alarm.” As I
hustled to get out the door to pacify my son and, to be honest, to get away
from the annoying blare of the alarm, I pondered what had just been said. Just
a fire alarm. No worries here. Fire alarms just warn us when there is a fire. A
FIRE!
Okay, granted, it was just an alarm. There was no fire, and
no permanent harm was done. But there was harm in teaching my children that the
warning should be ignored.
As a hip and informed mom, I know there are warning signs
everywhere, and it is hard to know when to heed them and when to let time
resolve the situation. Surely, a hip mom doesn’t have time to take every
breaking news story about the dangers of your carseat/dish soap/bubble
bath/cosmetics/car model, etc. seriously. Who wants to be the mom that the
hospital receptionist knows by name because you run your kids in to the doctor
at every sniffle? And you cannot live in constant fear of the worst possible
outcome and still be a calm, collected, hip mom.
Still, warning signs exist for a reason – some danger is
lurking that could endanger you or your family. The trick is to learn which
warning signs are real and which ones you can ignore. More importantly, a hip
mom will discern which warning signs she wants her kids to take seriously,
knowing full well that they are paying close attention to her every move.
Personally, I want my kids to understand that a fire alarm means to get out of
the building, even if it means leaving their coolest, favorite jacket behind.
They can always go back and get it later. I might not always be able to go back
and get them later.
