The other evening I saw an incident on TV where a small girl almost fell down a cliff. It was an accident, but could have been prevented IF her parents had taken note of how the railing was set up. There was only a top and lower rung on the wooden log railing, no middle rung. The little girl leaned back and wasn’t tall enough to lean against the top rung. Thanks to an alert cousin, she wasn’t hurt, just scared.

In similar situations, don’t parents hold on to their children anymore when walking in parking lots? Don’t parents nag their kids anymore about looking before they cross the street or teach them about stop and go signals and the walk sign? Don’t parents teach their kids respect for themselves and others anymore?

Granted when my kids were growing up, they certainly weren’t innocent. I’ll be the first one to admit that. But, I did teach them self responsibility and to pay attention to their surroundings. I also taught them respect for themselves and others. It fascinates me how the lessons I taught to them they have taught their children. Even the words are the same.

Now, back to the little girl. In today’s world, the Parks system will now probably be spending a lot of money either putting in a third rung on that log railing or installing some mesh. At this point I would put money on it, that little girl will be paying closer attention to her surroundings and to any fence or railing she decides to lean against. So, a lesson learned. However, her parents, instead of just telling her and the two other little girls to go by the fence and pose for a picture, could have gauged her size and the space in between and given her a warning NOT to lean against the railing or NOT to get close to the edge of the cliff. Again, a lesson learned.