u/Pale-Tennis9658

I live in London but do my best to make sure my daughter (15 months) gets to roll in mud and smell the roses. We’re very lucky to have so many parks and green spaces and I make sure I use them.

Anyway, I let my daughter walk barefoot in the park, climb things and eat a Lickalix ice lolly once a week which creates a serious mess (strawberry juice all over her white vest and face). Instead of judging looks, I’ve actually had quite a few people comment on how lovely and happy she is and what a great job I’m doing. I never expected that. Sometimes I feel a bit embarrassed that my daughter looks like such a ragamuffin but these kind strangers have helped me to not feel ashamed but instead remember why I do it - big smiles and learning by exploring.

I just wanted to share in case anyone else was on the fence about letting their little one look a little wild in public.

I’ve had bad climate anxiety since I was a child (now 35) and I feel it was almost a premonition. I got really interested in NDE’s mainly as way to connect with a higher purpose - I’ve just got to believe there’s a bigger picture, especially as a mother to a 1 year old. Does anyone have a take on this from the other side? Will we get through it? How bad will the suffering be? What is it here to teach us?