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What is brave?

Proud faces after
being brave for jabs
Recently, both my kids have worked on the concept of being brave. Leading up to our trip to Kenya, we've all had to have a number of vaccinations - and jabs are no child's favourite thing.

After the first lot, they knew what was going to happen as soon as we walked into the clinic. They were scared. There were tears.

I didn't tell them not to cry - their fear was justified, they were going to get hurt! Instead I explained that being brave is when we're very afraid to do something we need to do, but we still do it.

I never tell my kids they shouldn't cry, shouldn't be angry, shouldn't be disappointed... I find it makes more sense to teach them how to handle these feelings, and I tell them that they'll be ok in the end.

The most beautiful thing to me is
seeing them support each other when
one is scared. Here, of bees in the bush.


I tried to tell D to be brave when it came to going to nursery. A few times - until he decided he didn't want to be brave, didn't want to be a big boy! That's a huge shift, from a boy who wanted nothing more than to be "big", to assure me repeatedly that "I'm only little, mummy..." because I had said he's now big enough to go to nursery. When I pulled him out after a mere three weeks, it took him a little while to feel safe enough to want to be "big" again.

N had to be brave today as we went to the dentist. She was utterly miserable, going between crying and saying how scared she was, to little whimpers, to withdrawing into herself as we went in the car. Why was she so terrified? I have no idea, as she's never actually been hurt at a dentist's (I asked!) but nevertheless, the fear was real. There was nothing I could say that reassured her. I won't lie to her so she knew she has a cavity and that the dentist will need to fix it.

I couldn't really do much as we drove, there was nothing to say after I'd said all the reassuring things I could think of... and then I heard her pray. She prayed for strength, that Jesus would go with her, and that she would be brave.

To my delight, after about two minutes in the room, she was happily chatting with the dentist; she allowed everything (no treatments were given, just a thorough check) and bounded out of there singing, I am brave!

It's the absolute best thing in the world to see children's prayers answered!
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