Imagine this: You and your child are on a small airplane together. Suddenly, the plane hits a storm. The clouds are dark, you can see flashes of lightning. The plane starts to shake.
Your child looks at you with wide eyes and says,
“What’s happening? Are we going to crash?!”
Their heart is racing, this is all unfamiliar. Panic is setting in.
Then suddenly — a calm, steady voice comes over the intercom.
“Good afternoon, folks. This is your captain speaking.
We’ve hit a bit of turbulence, as I’m sure you’ve all worked out.
We’re making a small adjustment to our altitude to smooth things out. The bumps might feel uncomfortable, but I want you to know — this is safe, and everything is under control.
So sit back, keep your seatbelt fastened, and we’ll get you into some smooth air soon.”
Immediately, the energy in the cabin shifts. Your child looks up at you and says,
“The pilot’s not scared.”
You nod and say: “Right. They’ve done this before. They know what to do. We’re safe.”
Your child still doesn’t like the turbulence. But the panic has softened.
They go back to watching their movie, seatbelt fastened, leaning against your arm.
Because someone is flying the plane. And that someone is calm, confident, and trained to handle the storm.
Parenting is like being a Pilot
Every child will face emotional “storms”—meltdowns, anxiety, tricky behaviour, overwhelming feelings.
- They look to you to see if things are okay.
- You don’t need to stop the storm.
- You don’t need to fix everything.
But they need you to be the calm, confident pilot guiding them through it.
