The block tower that kept falling

Baby Mo stacked blocks. They fell. Stacked again. Fell again. Five times. Abi's hands itched to build him a neat one — but I held back.

Because if Abi builds it, all he learns is "when it's hard, call Abi." If he succeeds on his own on the sixth try, he learns "I can, if I try again." Two very different lessons from one block tower.

The sixth try held. Three blocks standing. Baby Mo clapped for himself, then turned to Abi for applause too. Abi clapped the loudest.

"The deeds most beloved to Allah are those done consistently, even if small." (Bukhari 6464, Muslim 783)

Letting a child fail safely is one of the hardest forms of love. But that's where resilience is born — not in the tower Abi builds for him.