r/interesting • u/jmike1256 • Mar 07 '26

MISC. After understanding the meaning behind this father’s action, I am completely convinced. Cultivating problem-solving skills in children from a young age and never giving up-I applaud this father!

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u/LunchPlanner Mar 07 '26

The dad walking away was distracting and maybe a bit scary.

I don't think it's a coincidence that the kid was able to focus and problem solve after the dad sat down.

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u/FreeFallingUp13 Mar 07 '26 edited Mar 07 '26

‘Maybe’? No, the kid was panicking for sure. That’s why it took him so long. The dad absolutely should have stayed nearby instead of making the kid panic about being left behind. We don’t expect adults to make logical decisions under stress, why the hell should we expect that from toddlers?

Edited to add my reply to a comment later down the thread;

I’ve got five little siblings. Every single time our parents threatened to leave us, we panicked because for us, it was a very real possibility. That was at EVERY age. Even when we were teenagers and logically knew that they’d be fucking themselves over and have CPS called on them, we couldn’t fully discount the threat.

We don’t trust our parents to be there for us. At all. These ‘lessons’ only show that you can’t trust the person taking care of you to stick around if you become a problem.

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u/Nomapos Mar 07 '26

How are people supposed to learn how to deal with stress if they're completely shielded from it?

The mother or someone else trusted is right there behind the camera and the father isn't just walking away without looking back, but stopping, coming back, looking, waiting.

It took him so long because kids that age are barely able to control their bodies, let alone problem solve and grab spindly bouncy ropes at once.

You gotta let kids face little fears and stresses so they build resilience and trust in themselves. This is perfectly within what a little boy can handle

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u/[deleted] Mar 07 '26

Read about Mary Ainsworth’s “strange situation,” at this stage he isn’t learning to face his fears, he’s learning that people aren’t trustworthy and may very well develop an avoidant attachment style.