Let kids grow, explore, be independent, learn confidence
I recently posted on Facebook: “You know you’re from Burbank... California”—Los Angeles County.
This is where I was raised. I asked whether you felt safe growing up in Burbank. We had, in the 1950s and 1960s, so much freedom. We roamed. We played all kinds of made-up games. Our parents didn’t even know where we were. But all of the mothers in the neighborhood watched out for us. We had so much fun. Hiking the hills behind our house, we saw mountain lions, deer, coyotes and much more. In the summer I had to be home at 6 p.m. to eat dinner, then after I washed the dishes, I was out the door until it got dark. Most people responded that they, too, had freedom and always felt safe then as well.
What also became apparent is that today many people live in fear. How terribly awful to live in fear. I now live in Taos, New Mexico, a very safe place. A young mother in Taos told me that if she didn’t know where her children were for five minutes she freaked out. My neighbor went off on how many children are kidnapped. When I asked him how did he know this, he said, “The news.”
This is not true. Children aren’t being kidnapped everywhere.
Today, everything is organized. “Don’t forget Tuesday is soccer practice. Thursday is music lesson. And you have a play date on Saturday. No time left for our children to do as they wish. Do not for a minute believe all of the devices the kids use promote creativity and independence.
Be mindful, but please let your children be children.
Our kids need the freedom to succeed and to fail. What in the hell is going to happen to these kids who know no independence and whose parents have make sure their children never fail? And how about all of those participation awards? Self-confidence and self-worth cannot be given. It has to be earned.
Seriously, what will our society be like when these children are adults? Very sad.
A side note. Nothing appears to be anyone’s fault. “It’s not my fault.”
Parents will do anything to keep their child from failing anything. What becomes of a person who is never wrong, who never fails and is always right? It’s called entitlement. I deserve (without any effort) the credit and kudos and that is all I will accept. Do not tell me how I could have done it better. Entitlement is a scourge upon us.
I was so pleased to hear about on National Public Radio. This is from the Let Grow website:
“At Let Grow, we believe in kids. We believe they are smart, strong and at least as capable as their parents were at their age. So why does society insist on bubble-wrapping them? Why are we encouraged to protect them from even the slightest physical or mental discomfort? Why don’t we trust them to do anything safely or successfully on their own? Because of the twin fears stalking today’s parents: either their kids will be snatched by a demonic clown… or they won’t get into Harvard.
“But in fact, treating today’s kids as physically and emotionally fragile is bad for their future and our country’s. With an unpredictable and rapidly changing economy ahead, kids need to be flexible, creative problem-solvers. They can’t solve their problems if adults are always right there, solving them first! That’s why Let Grow is creating a new path for parents, schools and America itself -- a path back to letting kids have some adventures, develop more independence and grow resilient. Let Grow asserts that:
“Kids aren’t fragile, they are “anti-fragile” – built not just to withstand some challenges, but to grow stronger once they do.
“The world is not more dangerous today than in decades past. In fact, America is at a 50-year crime low.
“Doing a little less for our kids is not negligent or lazy. It is a vote of confidence in them.”
Please, Taoseños, go to their website and consider what Let Grow is saying. For me? I was so pleased to find out about Let Grow. They say what I have been feeling for a long time. I was an educator for most of my life. Give your kids freedom.