Young girl.

Running ahead of Mom.

She is enjoying her freedom.

Mom is following behind and letting her daughter explore and make choices of where to go.

Mom isn’t controlling her.

Daughter keeps looking back to check if Mom is still there.

She wants Mom to be there.

She wants to be sure that Mom is ok with the way she is exploring.

If Mom wasn’t there, the freedom would suddenly turn scary.

Did she lose Mom?

Is the freedom fun anymore if Mom isn’t there to ensure that it’s ok?

Mom is present to keep her daughter protected.

Does Daughter fall?

She does.

Mom is present and helps her up.

Why didn’t Mom prevent the fall?

She could have been bent over holding her daughter and directing her every move.

But she knows better.

Daughter’s freedom would be removed.

If Mom was trying to control her, she’d probably want to ditch Mom.

If it was Mom who kicked her over, she’d probably resent Mom.