I was reminded of this saying when my oldest let me know he was hiking over the long weekend. It’s a normal thing for him to do in his free time. I asked, “who are you hiking with?” Knowing he has various friends he goes on these outings with. “No one,” he replied. Gulp.

I’ve read too many stories of people hiking alone, many very experienced, who have some mishap and end up injured, and too often, dead. My worried brain went into overdrive. My son is an adult and can do as he pleases, but his frontal cortex isn’t fully formed and this decision reminded me of where his brain is in its development.

I stressed that he should always go with someone. He countered that he went on a busy trail with tons of people around. I told him, that if anything happened to him I couldn’t bear it, and then I told him I had my PhD in worrying. Doesn’t every parent? My son responded with the “ha ha” bubble. 🤷‍♀️

I shared this news with my husband and we agreed we’d talk to our son again and stress the importance of not going alone.

In life, it’s easy to go it alone — when you don’t have others who want to join in, you just want to do something by yourself, and/or you think you can (or should) do something on your own. Sometimes you have to go alone — to school, work, or an appointment. Most times, the risk is low. But going alone has its risks — like when you hike a tall peak by yourself or when you take on too much (project, work, life) and struggle or fail.

Growing up is trial by error. As parents we try to arm our kids with knowledge to make decisions that will keep them safe and allow them to lead fulfilling lives. I hope we’ve done that for our boys. Now if I could just speed up my oldest’s frontal cortex to be fully formed. 🤣

When has worry overtaken you? How are you helping your child to be safe when they want to go it alone?