The Risky Kids

I’ve put off writing this post for a couple of weeks now, because to write it makes it so very real. After 3 years of blogging, I’ve decided to say goodbye to The Risky Kids. It hasn’t been an easy decision, but several factors have combined to make this the best decision for me, you, and my family.

As some of you know, The Risky Kids isn’t my only blog. I’ve been blogging over at Just Like The Number for over 8 years, which is the equivalent of 80 in Internet Years. So I know a thing or two about blogging, and how to determine whether or not a blog has growth potential. I started The Risky Kids to share my passion about play and to build a community around parents that wanted to raise happy, independent kids without irrational fear or paranoia about the world around them. My hope was that in creating a niche blog such as this, I would find an audience with whom this content resonated with, and that over time it would grow.

I have most definitely found an audience. I’ve interacted with many of you through discussions here and on social media, and you’ve inspired me just as much (okay, probably more) as I hope I’ve inspired you. However, The Risky Kids just hasn’t grown the way I’ve wanted it to.

I could continue to plod along and post here and there, but that’s never been my style. I wouldn’t feel like I was giving you my best, and I’m not cool with that.

I could continue to produce content as I have been, but in order to give you my best, I have to continue to put significant time and effort into each post. I’ve found that it’s getting harder and harder to do so. It requires a hefty amount of time to plan, execute, photograph and write good posts, time that I don’t necessarily have. It has to come from somewhere, and it ends up coming from personal and family time.

I’m also finding that as my kids are getting older, they aren’t always so keen on doing things for the main purpose of producing great content for the blog. Sure, they still love nature hikes and geocaching and doing 50 Dangerous Things. But they don’t necessarily want me to photograph every moment and put it on the Internet. Often, they ask if we can just do something to do it for fun, not for a blog post. I only get one shot at this parenting gig, and I don’t want to mess up great moments for the sake of page views.

While I’ve never done this for the money, the hard truth is that without any source of income, a blog is really just a creative hobby. And that’s great! There’s nothing wrong with that! But when I take a good, hard look at the amount of time I spend writing for both blogs, and maintaining separate social media accounts for both, I’m spending entirely too much time on my hobby. It’s less of a hobby, and more of a part-time job for which I earn significantly less than minimum wage. That’s not to knock blogging. It is what it is, and I’m not bitter at all. I just need to be more mindful about how I spend the precious hours I am given in this life.

The tricky part is, I still have a great passion for play. I still have a great passion for the kinds of parenting topics I’ve covered here, and will continue to face. I still love to take photographs and write. And so while this is goodbye for this particular space, it’s not a complete goodbye. As I did before I started The Risky Kids, I’ll continue to write about these topics as I’m inspired to do so over at Just Like The Number. While I understand that the range of topics I write about there might not be of interest to all of you, I hope you’ll consider subscribing, either via an RSS reader or email. I’d love to see you over there!

For the time being, this space isn’t going anywhere, so you can continue to reference old posts as needed. I just won’t be posting any new material. Like many of you, I’m finding great enjoyment from Instagram, which is essentially a mini-blog of our escapades. I’d love for you to follow me on Instagram (I’m @AngieSix) and stay connected with me that way.

Finally, I just want to thank each and every one of you for reading, sharing your stories and ours, and cheering us on. It’s been so much fun, and you’ve made me a better parent. I hope you’ll continue to play The Risky Kid way: less worry, more fun. In the end, risky play is everyone’s business. Play on, friends!