Bubble Man

When I was young, I heard from someone who told me about the 'Bubble man' story. It talked about a couple in order to avoid their only kid from getting hurt, they placed their kid in a breathable rubble made bubble. He never got out of the bubble since then.

As he grew older the bubble grew bigger. But, he never mingled with anyone else other than his parents. He was living in his own limited space. He was so lonely until one day he saw a beautiful girl next door from his bedroom window thru his bubble wall, laughing having fun with her friends, he decided to go out.

But, he was so scared to walk out of the bubble, so he rolled the bubble ball as hard as he could and broke his full length window just to get close to the girl. At the end, his parents realized that keeping his son in the bubble won't help him experience the world. Sometimes, he needed to get hurt in order to learn how to protect himself.

This is of course just a story. But as a parent we need to ponder, are we giving too much protection to our children? I know there are some parents who like to keep their baby themselves and don't even want to let others cuddle their baby. But, on the other hand, I saw many parents brought their baby out on the street and show the baby the world and people around - I think that's very good to the baby as this can stimulate the baby's learning skill and improve his/her sensitivity to the surrounding.

I have seen many 'too' protective children who grow up to be timid, weak, insecure, couldn't make decision their own even for a simple job. Because children are not learning when they are being 'fed'.

I think let the children getting around themselve (with reasonable guardianship) is as important as early education.