When We Give Our Children What We Wished For
There’s a moment every parent knows. You’re watching your child’s face light up during something you’re doing together—really with them, not just supervising from the sidelines—and it hits you. This thing you’re doing? You wished someone did it with you.
Maybe it’s building something with your hands. Maybe it’s getting properly muddy. Maybe it’s learning a skill that feels real and useful, the kind your grandparents might have known without thinking. Whatever it is, there’s often a little voice underneath saying: I’m giving them what I wanted.
And here’s the thing nobody tells you: that’s not selfish. It’s actually one of the most generous things we do.
Sure, there’s a thread of that in there—we all have it. But watch what happens when you’re teaching your child to tie a knot, to read the weather, to understand how things actually work with their hands instead of just their eyes. Watch their confidence grow. Watch them realise they’re capable of real things. That moment when they do it themselves for the first time and turn to you with that look—that’s not about what you missed. That’s about what they’re gaining.
And you? You get to experience that joy twice. Once as the giver. Once as someone finally, finally understanding why those skills and moments mattered so much in the first place.
This summer, we’re exploring exactly this at East View Riding Centre. We’re creating space for families to step away from the usual, to do things together that matter—the kind of activities that build confidence, connection, and real skills. The kind you remember.
We’re going to be starting this off at The Acre, and it starts with bush-craft.
Want to know more?
