As hard as we try to ensure that all of our children have the same opportunities and are treated fairly the difference between boys and girls is apparent in more ways than one. This was glaringly apparent to me a couple of weeks ago when I was camping with my family.
My husband and I took our two youngest children (15 & 11) camping in the backcountry of the Alberta mountains. It is stunning and serene and even better there is no cell service or wifi so the children HAVE to talk to us!
We were driving back to town one day for more ice and some supplies and drove past a vehicle with a flat tire on the side of the road. My husband is a mechanic and usually has tools in the truck like tire patch kits and such. So he checked to see if he brought it with him - he didn't unfortunately. So we kept heading into town.
Our son asked why we would stop to help. My husband explained that there is no cell service so the driver could not call for help at all, he would either have to drive with a flat, ruining his rim on the car, walk somewhere, or hitch a ride with someone. He explained that especially in a place like in the backcountry where we were, you should stop and help if you can.
Then he proceeded to tell my 11-year-old daughter that she is NOT to stop. EVER.
I tried to interject that maybe she could stop and unroll her window and say she was going to town for help for them or some other method of helping, but my husband was adamant.
DO NOT STOP. EVER.
And sadly, I can see his point. He is confident that his son can take care of himself but is terrified of someone taking advantage of our little girl. There are so many people out there with intentions that are not pure or proper.
I do not know how to fix this. I do not know how to let my daughter enjoy her life and trust people she meets without instilling that hint of danger in her. That she should always be aware of her surroundings, that she should always travel with a friend, to always try to make safe choices.
I am depleted that the world we live in my husband has to teach my daughter she cannot be kind and help strangers in fear of being attacked or hurt somewhere where she cannot get help herself.
That day left me drained and anxious and unsure of how parents can protect their children.
And at this point and time, all we as parents can do is teach our daughters to be extra-safe and teach our boys to always ALWAYS respect others, especially girls. And maybe someday the threat won't be as big as it has been. I can only hope.