Sitting at the top of our concrete stairs, Little Bird smiles down at me. Even though he doesn’t talk yet, his big grin says, “Look at me, Mama! Isn’t this awesome?” Used to my daredevil of a baby, I shake my head, smile back and hustle up the stairs before he gets the idea to climb down on his own.

I suppose it’s appropriate that one of my kids is a risk-taker. After all, exploration and adventure are some of my big values, in whatever form they come. My family stories overflow with risk, from biking around the world to immigrating to America. And I myself was a kid who never hesitated to put anything in my mouth and embraced the wildness of the outdoors. But all of that doesn’t make it any easier on my mental health.

The one saving grace is that at least he’s the second kid. With Sprout, everything he did made me nervous enough, even the stuff that was totally innocuous. Sprout has always been cautious. He always stands back, observing the basics of a situation before acting. He loves climbing, but won’t do it unless it’s clear where to put his hands and feet. He never scrambled out of his crib – we only moved him to a toddler bed because he was getting too old for it.

In contrast, Little Bird seems to be fearless. For a while, he only walked a few steps at a time, but in hindsight, that seems to be less out of nervousness and more out of convenience. Now that he can walk, he moves fast and well. Whatever else there is to do, he’d rather be moving. Getting changed? Nope. Sitting quietly on mommy’s lap? Definitely not. Being pushed around in the stroller or carried in the backpack? Not for long.

And the climbing! The couch, the giant beanbag chairs, Sprout’s bed, the rocking chair, the stepstool in the bathroom – all challenges to be conquered. He not only crawls up stairs, but climbs them, holding on to the supports for the handrail when he can’t reach the rail itself. Whenever we go to the playground, he’s on his way to the stairs as soon as he spots them. He’s even tried walking down the stairs off our deck. Needless to say, I stayed very close by.

Fortunately, his adventurousness inspires more than just stopped hearts and labored breathing in me. There’s a genuine pride. His tenacity and willingness to try, even when he’s obviously too small to do something, is inspiring. It makes me want to get back to the climbing gym or set out on a long hike. It emboldens me to bring them on adventures and spurs my enthusiasm for our trip to Zion National Park in the fall.

Like all things in parenting, handling Little Bird’s adventurousness will be a balance. I don’t want to squash his spirit, but I want to teach him to use it wisely.

Of course, he’s too young to understand those lessons yet. So we’re keeping a close eye on him and teaching him our rules, like don’t eat the berries in the lawn.

As he grows older, we’ll explain the why of those limits and how to make those judgments on his own. Learning to evaluate risk will be essential for him, even more than it would be for a less adventurous kid.

This is especially important if his love of the nature continues, as some outdoors enthusiasts are especially bad at estimating those limits. When I was 14, I went on a multi-day trip with a bunch of other junior high students. Our counselors were college kids who were vastly unqualified to be bringing a mess of teenagers into potentially dangerous situations. One day, we were supposed to go on a canoe trip. Except that it started thundering not long after we got on the river. Knowing this was a bad idea, I spoke up. The counselors mostly ignored me, but I’m still glad I said something. I want Little Bird to be able to make those same decisions, no matter who is in charge. Listening to my gut and employing quick-thinking has gotten me out of some shady situations.

So whenever Little Bird climbs to the top of whatever is next on his baby bucket list, I’ll be there beside him, guiding him.

Read about how from the day he came into the world to his first birthday, Little Bird has been a bit of a handful. Be sure to follow us on Facebook!