inhibitions

INHIBIT: 1. to restrain, hinder, arrest, or check (an action, impulse, etc.) 2. to prohibit; forbid

one of the best things in the world, in my humble opinion, is watching how incredibly uninhibited children are. toddlers usually are the most uninhibited and then i'm pretty sure each year of life inhibits us a little more. fast forward to adulthood, and more often than not inhibitions kick-in for every big & little decision we make...for better or worse. our inhibitions keep us safe and moral, but they also can keep us from having fun and fully tasting life.

our age group- 8-13 year old kids/adolescents- are at a really unique stage. there's still a bit of willingness to let go freely (uninhibited) but messages are beginning to alter their way of thinking, inhibiting them from being themselves. they are at a self-esteem crossroads, they are about to choose which road they will take. that's where we want to catch kids. right on this brink. we want to point them in the right direction and say, "you are great, just like you are. run because you want to, because you can, because you're free to skip/fall/hop/walk/crawl/be you." we want to capture this moment in time and enlighten them to believe in themselves and feel what it's like to set & achieve a goal.

i took my toddler to an indoor pool last night. she squealed with delight as she ran around the outside of the pool and played on the steps going into the pool. not a care in the world. no concern about what others were doing, no wonder if her adorable little belly was hanging out over her suit (which, adorably, it was because it's a little snug from last summer), just pure, uninhibited joy.

about 30 minutes into her playing, she was running (ok, toddling) too fast on the pool floor and she fell and bumped her head. it became a teaching moment- we need to go slow on the pool floor because it is slippery.

ready, set, run aims to encourage kids to let go and be themselves. we also aim to look for opportunities to step in and teach and walk WITH kids the right way.