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Chapter 4 64 (external) grounds are required to justify one’s trust in one’s children. Deliberating whether trust in one’s child’s good will is (or was) appropriate might be done in hindsight, and there might well be good (pedagogical or developmental) reasons to trust one’s children, but we argue that parents do not decide whether or not to trust their children on the basis of such reasons. Therefore, following Hieronymi, we think that it is characteristic for parents to have a trusting belief in their child. We propose here that this belief is ‘ a priori ’, meaning that the parent does not ‘build up’ this trusting belief. As such, we are not able to judge whether parents have good grounds for their belief, but because, as said, there are good grounds for parents to trust their children from the start, we side with Spiecker in saying that parental ‘ a priori ’ trust can be called appropriate. If it were the case that parents decide to trust based on its pedagogical/developmental merits, parental trust would be a form of therapeutic or ‘useful’ trust – instead of full or pure trust. And this, to our minds, would reduce parenthood to something that parents ‘do’ instead of what they are. 63 Bollnow’s emphasis on the importance of engaging in existential risk when educating reflects his emphasis on the importance of trust in human lives. To trust someone means that we are not certain, but that we take this leap of faith anyway. According to Bollnow, the trust of a parent in their child creates space to take existential risks, and is therefore something that parents ought to do. 64 Above that, as we have already mentioned, the consequence of not-trusting is that one takes away one’s children’s freedom. 65 But trust in itself is also a Wagnis , says Bollnow. 66 To trust someone is taking an existential risk, while at the same time trust is required in a situation of uncertainty, i.e. in a situation of risk. 4.6 C ONCLUSION Striving for a flourishing life is fragile, and parents who are committed to their children’s flourishing are therefore engaged in existential risk-taking. John Lennon’s song has given us a sense of how this vulnerability affects him as a father. We have shown in this article that child-rearing also entails a specific risk that can be typified as a Wagnis . Therefore there are two distinct ways in which we can understand parent’s striving for a flourishing life for their children as a Wagnis . 63 See Suissa 2006. 64 Bollnow 1959, p. 143. 65 See also Spiecker 1990, p. 160. 66 Bollnow 1959, p. 144.