Should I Help?

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At a San Francisco playground many years ago, I watched as a father lifted his two-year-old onto an elevated walkway. He and I were the only two fathers there, and I took it on myself to advise him. “You might not want to do that,” I said.  “It’s a little high for him.”

“Oh, he’ll be OK,” said the other Dad. “He’s a tough little kid.”  The child ran happily along the walkway, until he found a series of climbing bars going down and grabbed on one to climb.

Next thing we knew he was screaming.

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5 Responses to Should I Help?

  1. Linda Martin says:

    Great post as usual. Knowing when to try to help is sometimes very difficult. If trying to help is going to hurt me or make me resent doing it, I just try to take care of myself in most instances. Learned the hard way.

  2. Angelee says:

    Happy Gratitude Day David!
    I read most of your blog posts but rarely comment. Please know that I always appreciate your wisdom and storytelling style. I star them when they hit my inbox and save them for when I have a quiet moment to fully enjoy your words.
    With joy and warmth,
    Angelee

  3. Great wisdom here. Of course, there are certain areas of life where things are different. For example, if I take a fitness client and turn them loose in a gym, they’re almost certainly going to harm themselves. Gyms don’t work the same as playgrounds. And people have NO idea how to exercise safely. Weird, huh.

  4. Thank you, David, for writing about this compulsion to “help.”

    “Should I help?” really is the wisest of questions to ask here.

    I’m sharing your post with 1000+ mental health professionals who need to hear your wise words.

    I hope it drives traffic back to your website!

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