As experienced by my 3 year old the other day:

While driving to school one unusually rainy morning, I spotted a brilliant and vivid rainbow. Not wanting them to miss out, I pointed it out to the children.

6 year old saw it clearly and marvelled at the bright colours. One and half year old continued watching the cars oblivious to any change in the sky. My 3 year old strained his neck trying to see the rainbow. “I can’t see it!” he wailed.

“There!” I pointed.

Still he couldn’t quite see it and quickly his tears began to flow.

“There!” screamed 6 year old, mildly frustrated. He couldn’t quite understand that just because it was in his line of sight, didn’t necessarily mean it was in everyone else’s.

More tears and this time accompanied by heartbreaking sobbing.

I pulled over to the side of a very busy main road and scrambled out of the car, unhooked his seat belt and scooped 3 year old up in my arms and pointed. At that very moment, the rainbow disappeared before my eyes and my darling 3 year old blubbered, “I still can’t see it!”

I know we can’t (and probably shouldn’t) shelter our children from every little setback and disappointment – however will they learn to cope with same when they are older? No doubt there will be many more misfortunes and indeed failures as he is growing up; I just wished for that one moment I could freeze time so we ALL could marvel together at the bright, colourful rainbow and my little boy wouldn’t have to suffer this one very small (and short-lived, I must say) but still very heartbreaking upset.

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