WE KEEP HEARING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE INCREDIBLY DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS. THERE AREN’T ENOUGH THERAPISTS IN THE WORLD TO DEAL WITH IT. SO WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING FASTER, EASIER AND CHEAPER. HERE IT IS! FREE, UNSUPERVISED, UNSTRUCTURED PLAY TIME! A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that “Physical activity […]
In 2018, Vanessa Elias launched Big Block Party Weekend in her hometown of Wilton, Connecticut. Her mission was to “build community one block at a time.” That inaugural weekend brought together more than 1,200 residents for approximately 40 block parties. The joy and benefits could be felt immediately and continue to grow. Wilton’s block parties […]
The Surgeon General is right: Loneliness is a massive problem. It’s not just sad, it’s unhealthy. So let’s look at the quickest, easiest way to solve it, at least among kids. Get them playing. Really playing — organizing games, working through arguments, sometimes yelling, sometimes laughing — without an adult fast-forwarding through all of that. Playing is […]
It’s like steak seasoning. The media takes a rather straightforward story and liberally sprinkles its favorite seasoning on it — a zesty mix of fear, hypothesizing, and cherry-picked “man on the street” interviews — and voila! A yummy story the public gobbles down. You can watch this process in action every September when a child […]
Independence Day is every day for families in eight states, including four — Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois, and Montana — that passed a “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill this year. “I’m really excited,” said Evelyn Hackel, a naval architect and mother of Elsa Hackel, age 12. She should be! When Elsa was 9 and walking home from […]
Maybe this will convince other moms not to make outrageous claims on TikTok. The Petaluma, California, “mom-fluencer” who claimed her kids were the victims of an attempted abduction in a Michael’s parking lot has been sentenced to 90 days’ jail time, 30 of which must actually be spent behind bars. On December 7 of 2020 […]
When it turned out that four siblings, aged 1 to 13, had survived in the jungles of Colombia for 40 days after their plane crashed, killing all the adults on board (including their mom), the world was dumbstruck with awe. How could kids that young be that resourceful? “My responses is: ‘They do this routinely,’” […]
A recent front page article in the Wall Street Journal chronicles a problem that seems to be a sign of the times: Parents accompanying their kids on job interviews. And calling their kids’ bosses to demand better treatment. And showing up at their kids’ jobs to fight their battles. These stories can seem apocryphal, but The Journal’s Te-Ping […]
Her parents had prepared her for ALMOST everything. When Tom D’s daughter, age 6, asked if she could walk to get a Gatorade all by herself, her parents said yes. Then they gave her some money, her mom’s phone so she could be tracked, her dad’s number for emergencies, and a hand-drawn map – even […]
This certainly not the biggest problem facing America. But on a summer-jobs-for-young-people site (giving parents ideas to give to their kids) one suggestion was to have kids run a “Neighborhood Park Hour.” One hour, mind you. The site explained that kids can make a flyer “and get parents interested in paying for ‘Park Hour’.” So […]
