Perceptions
Perceptions are very important to me.
My definitions of perceptions apply to a number of things I consider to be important to me in one being safe.
One context has to do with what one "sees".
Kids:
Kids are not as tall as adults.
I for instance am 6' tall. I know what I "see" from my perspective at my height.
I know what my "view" is looking straight, above and below, still this differs from a kid.
A kid only 3 feet tall is going to see something straight on different than I will looking down to 3 feet. So I have to get down to their level to see what they are showing me, at their level.
A kid can look up to my 6', but I until I pick them up, they cannot see straight on what I am seeing.
The door bell rings and I look out a peep hole, but that kid cannot.
So adults have to parent and mentor kids to not run and open the door when the door bell rings or there is a knock at the door.
Sure, it is normal for a kid to want to open the door. They have developed to a stage where they twist a dead bolt to unlock it, and twist a door knob.
Kids go through stages of development with muscle, brain, motor skills and everything.
They want to "help" and show they "can do it".
One of the most rewarding things I have done is to be a volunteer at a Ped's Hospital.
This will break your heart at times, and other times, words cannot express the joy, the fun, and being there seeing miracles.
We adults get older and forget we were littler once. Often times we forget until we have kids of our own, or nieces and nephews, or are around kids.
Adults get complacent, or lazy, into self. WE adults just take for granted that because we are adults, everyone else is. WE don't think.
"Honey snag a can of Chicken Noodle soup since you are near it!" an adult will say to a kid in the grocery store.
The adult looks down the aisle and this kid is looking up , back at the adult, back up to the soup and "I can't reach it".
Some kids "Improvise, Adapt, Overcome".
This might resemble a kid climbing shelves to an adult, still the adult did ask them to get that soup, and there was nothing said about not climbing on store shelves.
"Sweetie, remind mom to some biscuits when we get to the dairy area".
Oh the dairy place is great! They built these just perfect for climbing. Eggs sorta give and therefore assist in more sure footing when a kid is checking out the Cookie dough, that is near the biscuits.
Oh a parent or adult just thinks sticking that kid in a grocery buggy with a seat belt is "safe" and "secure".
If you want to really learn the definitions of "safe distance" and "action is quicker than reaction", stick a kid in a buggy , seat belt them in , and pay attention.
You might be an adult, you may have attended training classes, you might shoot IDPA/ISPC and get your gun out of a holster and first shot to target in 1.0 second...
You ain't as good as kid. *lol*
You sneeze, standing there next to the buggy, and the kid is chewing on a spatula they snagged when you look at the kid. So you put the spatula back and the kid is banging the cart with a basting bulb...
You start to round the corner, and you "swung wide" , so you thought and when you get ready to put the pickles on the basket, there are 4 bags of Doritos in the basket.
Wait a second, you swung wide "back there" how did those chips end up in the basket?
My point is, we never "arrive" we are always learning.
We have a tendency to focus on "now" and "what to learn next" , and "getting to the next level" instead of what we have learned and from the past , as we develop from "smaller" perceptives.
All shooting is, or anything else we do , is repeating correct basic fundamentals over and over again. We get smoother, faster, they become more natural to us, still when we are having problems with a concept, it is always something in correct basic fundamentals we are goofing up.
If one attends an advanced training class, they will go back over the basic correct fundamentals - again - before getting into the advanced material.
Think out of the box.
You have to "view" and "see" things from other perspectives that what you "see".
Criminals count on folks having "tunnel vision" and doing what they are supposed to do "at their level of development".
They know a kid has a tendency to jerk a door open without asking "who is it?" or being able to see through a peep hole.
Criminals will use whatever they can to distract and throw one off balance.
One will knock on a back door, another will ring the door bell.
While mom or dad is attending to one door, the kid jerks open the other one.
Criminals will look for a peep hole to change from "clear" to "dark" and listen for foot steps to know someone is at the other side. They look for curtains, or blinds to be looked through. Oh they will hear "honey, don't jerk the door open !"
A wittle kid is supposed to be parented and mentored. They have human rights too! They have a right to be safe and secure, and they are developing.
The human body is not fully developed until about age 16-18. Girls develop faster.
The part of the brain that deals with judgment, is not developed until ages 16-18, though some say it is not fully developed until later.
One happy wittle kid. She has "her own" convex mirrors on the front porch, and back porch.
She can wook out without even getting near the door, or window and see "her" mirrors, and know who is knocking at the door, ringing the door bell, even that it is the dawg scratching at the back door.
Lighting, including motion lights, let her see at night too.
When grandparents came over, she knew it was them.
"I knew it was you!" she said.
"How did you know?"
"Come see, see?"
Happy kid, showing off "her" convex mirrors.
Even happier kid, and she is getting some more of "her" mirror at her grandparents.
"Yeah, you can use them too when I am not staying over" - she informed her grandparents.
One is supposed to share - ya know? *wink*
