No wiser, just older.

Another year older but no wiser this year. Only older.

We had a lovely weekend, the kids had gone to a lot of effort to make me lovely cards and we decided to take advantage of a local farm's open day to have a day out. For the most part it was lovely. The sun was shining but the wind kept it cool (a little too cool at points), we went for a tractor ride, we went potato picking, we watched the sheep shearing (and dancing) show, fed the lambs and generally look at everything there was to look and played with everything there was to play with.

We did, however, have a problem and it is a recurring one. The children don't walk. They run. We get out of the car and set off running. It doesn't seem to matter where you are or what you are there for they refuse to walk anywhere near us and just run. If I am honest it scares me. I can't keep pace with the both - they move at very different speeds. I have lost count of the number of times I have yelled for one of them to stop because they have run so far whilst I am persuading the other to try and catch up. It terrifies me that they would run into the road and an oncoming car, that they might run off and get lost or that, very unlikely I know, but someone might get hold of them.  

I have tried to talk to them both about being sensible. About walking. About staying safe.  So far it hasn't worked and it is not just me that sees this behaviour - they are like this for their dad, both Grandmas and their Aunt. I think this has come to the front of our mind as I look forward to our holiday this summer - 2 weeks in Turkey. I can't wait as we need the break. But it does make me worry about losing them in a foreign country. Horror stories like Ben Needham and Madelaine McCann haunt me. I know they are rare occurrences but I want my children to be safe and so I do worry.

How do I teach them?

We have reins that clip to their backpacks - supposedly for younger children but we may have to go back to using them.
Holding hands is not always the answer - they let go, especially when they are cross or having a paddy.
I am fast running out of ideas. But I have to keep trying.

In other news I have done something very grown up - applied to be a governor at the children's school. It feels like the most grown up thing that I have ever done.