A friend just asked me how we got to this point — a point that she is miserably in the middle of, beside herself with guilt for missing an afternoon pick-up of her kid at school (someone else pitched in!), or whenever she has to, say, cut bath time short to take a work call. The pressure to be perfect and ever-present and somehow control every aspect of our kids’ lives is INTENSE…and completely unnecessary. And new! The micromanagement of kids requires US to become mircomanagers, which was something not expected of parents till about 10 minutes ago! Because it’s…
Author: lskenazy
If you want to be out-of-your-mind inspired, check out this huge Time Magazine profile of The Balance Project – “a parent-run nonprofit working to rebuild communities to encourage childhood independence and get kids off screens,” as Time puts it. Already, 60 other Balance Projects have sprung up across America! The movement is the brainchild of the indefatigable Holly Moscatiello of Little Silver, NJ. Her goal is “to make it just as easy to experience life in our community as it is to go on your phone.” Letting kids ride bikes! The article details how Holly is renormalizing the idea of kids out…
Chelsea F.’s baby, Teddy (both pseudonyms used at the family’s request), was born with serious genetic problems—heart defects, breathing issues, and brain abnormalities. But when Chelsea rushed the five-month-old to a Texas emergency room in January after he developed a fever, seizures, vomiting, and what was later determined to be a brain bleed, the doctor on call didn’t see a fragile infant with complex medical needs. She accused Chelsea and her husband of child abuse. NO BRUISES OR INJURIES, BUT SOMEHOW IT’S “ABUSE” The hospital’s child abuse pediatrician (CAP) accused Chelsea and her husband of shaking their baby. The diagnosis,…
This story of a 5-year-old who wandered away from home is going viral today for a wonderful reason: The cops did not arrest the parents! In Jacksonville, Florida, a 5-year-old named William managed to leave his family’s home and fully fenced-in yard one recent morning and walk over to the local Chick-fil-A. Alone! Whereupon the employees couldn’t help but notice he seemed younger than your average solo customer. They called the cops while feeding the boy what must’ve been a delicious breakfast: Freedom! When Patrol Officers Perri and Kelly arrived on the scene, they were kind to the kid. Where…
Why You Should Spend Less Time with Your Kids. That’s the title of my TED Talk that just came out — and here it is! It went up yesterday and has 197,000 views today. THANK YOU, TED!!! In the talk, I try to explain the terrible lie that has been driving kids and parents crazy for at least a generation: The idea that kids can’t handle almost ANYTHING on their own. That any time they are unsupervised they are in DANGER of being hurt or falling behind. That’s why, gradually, helicopter parenting became the new norm – even for parents…
I am so psyched to repost this Substack piece by my friend and fellow Let Grow Board Member, Samantha Boardman. Samantha is a Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University and author of a book I love and recommend to pretty much everyone, “Everyday Vitality: Turning Stress into Strength.” It is about how ruminating isn’t helpful, and that the only thing that really changes your life is taking action! Whether it’s a walk, meeting up with a friend, or finally trying something you’ve been anxious about — action switches things up. And yet our culture seems to relish coming up with…
Sometimes I write something I just gotta share, even if it is off-topic. Like today! ITEM: (Reuters) – Mattel has teamed up with OpenAI to develop toys and games with artificial intelligence. The company…plans to “bring the magic of AI to age-appropriate play experiences.” BARBIE: Hello, my new best friend. I’m Barbie. What‘s YOUR name? AVA: It’s Ava. BARBIE: Ava. That’s a nice name. What is your middle name and last name and how do you spell them? Just curious! AVA: It’s Ava B. Schneider. But I’m not sure what the B is for. I’ll go ask my – BARBIE: Never…
Are kids on their phones all the time because that’s what they love the most? An explosive new Harris Poll finds that actually, what kids 8-12 REALLY want to do is hang out together in real life – with no adults hovering, and no screens. They go online because that’s the only place they can meet up and have fun without constant adult supervision. Being glued to screens is their DEFAULT not their DESIRE. The Harris Poll gave kids a choice: In an Atlantic piece I co-authored with Jonathan Haidt (author of The Anxious Generation and my Let Grow co-founder) and Zach…
Am I insulted? Miffed? Mad that I am called a “rambunctious” provocateur compared to my friend and Let Grow co-founder Jonathan Haidt’s gravitas? I AM THRILLED! Who wouldn’t love their ideas repackaged and recommended by one of the world’s leading brainiacs…er…public intellectuals? Here’s the juicy paragraph from a New Yorker article by Mollie Fischer that ran a week or so ago about a new book on kids and phones: Part of Haidt’s appeal to terrified parents is his willingness to provide a stern and confident prescription: no smartphones before high school, no social media before sixteen, no phones in schools,…
Oh how I love this essay on child surveillance by Elizabeth Leigh Hunter. As she notes: The Alpha Generation is the most surveilled group of people on the planet. That merits more than a “Well, I barely ever look at it” shrug, which is how most people think about tracking apps and monitors. Elizabeth is a Seattle-based writer at Seattle’s Child Magazine and mom of two. For the last few years she has worked tirelessly to help people understand not only the NEED for childhood independence, but the JOY of it. She founded a Let Grow Play Club at her children’s school and is writing…