Parents carefully nurture their children, closely monitoring their every move. Most of them tell their children not to jump or run on hard surfaces or in dangerous places when they are too young. But Sayla, the three-year-old daughter of mountaineers Mike and Janelle Smiley, is not the typical toddler. She enjoys risky activities that could make even adults think twice before trying. Her mountaineering parents believe their daughter enjoys these activities.
The couple frequently posts videos of trekking, rock climbing, and other outdoor activities on their Instagram account. They recently posted a video of their daughter swinging from a mountain, and it quickly went viral.
With the video, they shared a caption that reads, "Our 3.5-year-old daughter, Sayla, takes rope swinging to a new level. She couldn't get enough, it was amazing. Highlight of the trip so far."
According to the parents, "Sayla has done smaller rope swings like this and loves it. She is wiggling her feet at the apex because she is learning to rotate around and stick the landing feet first."
Her mother shot the video and fully supported her daughter. Cautioning about the risk involved, the parents said in the text that it is not for everyone and, like most things, is dangerous when done incorrectly but completely harmless when done properly.
So far, the video has received more than 37 million views and 938,808 likes on Instagram. Users were stunned to see the toddler.
"A lot of fears are inherited from our parents. The best thing we can do is teach our children to progress through fear, keep moving, and be challenged. It develops resilience. Good on these parents for living their best life with their baby; that's not going to be a kid who sits home afraid to do something," said a user. Another commented, "OMG!!! I want to see more of her happy fearlessness!" A third user said, "This is amazing, and your daughter is incredibly lucky to have parents like you."
