Friday, December 4, 2009

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting


Good read from Time.com. Leave any thoughts/comments on the subject!

6 comments:

Amy said...

I agree that "overparenting" has gotten out of control. Personally, I try my best to keep our life simple for our kids. When we get too stressed out, it's time to slow down and take a look at what we can do eliminate some of the stress. I don't want to look back on these years and feel like they were a blur/whirlwind...I'd rather remember a fun time spent loving and enjoying my little kids :)

christina said...

kind of a long article so I skimmed it a bit...agree w/ 90% of it but quite certain I still won't be putting my kids on the NYC subway alone anytime soon!

Kelly O'Donnell said...

I do think it's a function of "group think" though, you feel like a bad parent if you are not overparenting to the degree of other parents. So you overparent, and then the next person feels like THEY have to do the same or more or they're the bad parent. Someone has to break the cycle! I'll do it! I admit I let my kid swallow her flouride toothpaste, play in our backyard without being present the entire time, and if she were 10 and wanted to ride the subway alone, I would let her! (I THINK!) :)

A site i like is www.freerangekids.com, written by the subway riding mom from NYC. I was a total freerange kid and feel bad a generation may miss the exhilaration of learning to navigate the world on your own. it's an important life skill we shouldn't undervalue instilling in our kids, as much as we value teaching them to be careful or to rely on us.

christina said...

one thing I really wish more parents let their kids do is walk to school (if it's a walkable distance). I'm totally bummed that the way our city is zoned has us going to an Elem that we have to drive/bus to, rather than a closer one that my kids would in fact be able to walk to.

Learning As I Go Blog said...

My husband and I talk about this a lot. We grew up riding our bikes around our neighborhood withOUT helmets, knee pads, etc. I do feel like a nervous mom and can't help but want to pad my kids to death when they start riding their bikes around town. My husband on the other hand believes you learn the "hard way!" Hopefully, we will balance each other out!! :) Danielle

Jodi said...

I think when we "overparent" we make this job a lot harder on ourselves! I think there needs to be common sense in place, but not overreacting. I can see in my classroom the effects of overly parented kids- not sure how they will function as adults!