Free Range Parenting

http://www.bostonglobe.com/magazine/2015/05/02/what-bad-about-free-range-parenting/Wpszt5Kf7anqbXTz5oQzqK/story.html

There has been debate in the National Media lately about the issue of so-called "Free Range Parenting". I find this terminology to be a poor label to put on our children, when we were children this type of independence was considered "the norm", now its viewed in a negative light by many. I also do not like the use of this term because it puts children into a grouping of other "Free range" mamals such as cows, chickens, and sheep. Children are much more important than livestock and also have the ability to use the 3 pound logic circuit placed between their ears.

I feel that fear of evil has crept into the forefront of parents minds in today's world that parents are afraid to let their children gain independence. This along with the "Every bodies a winner" mentality (I will tackle that issue in a future blog post), are causing a generation that will fail as adults because they are untrained to be independent, afraid of failure, and simply not setup to tackle the challenges of adulthood.

I see the effects of different rearing in my own personal life, as a child I was outside all hours of the day, riding my bike, playing baseball, and just plain goofing off with all the other kids in the neighborhood. A female friend of mine had a mother who did not let her venture out of eyesight, now my friend as a grown adult has issues with anxiety, chronic worrying, and lack of motivation for fear of failure. I feel that the upbringing from her mother caused her to lack a sense of independence and self confidence.

The ethical dilemma of whether it is safe for a child to be out on their own should be non-existent. Every child has their own developmental rate and the ethical thing would be to bolster their growth and let them learn when they are ready. Sure there are going to be times when they fall down and get hurt and no one is there to pick them up, sure there might be times when they get lost or come home late. But these experiences are necessary to allow the child to learn to pick themselves up when no one else will, brush off the dirt and drive on, there is almost always a solution to the problem, and we must train our children to seek solutions and not expect someone else to do everything for them.