“Peter Gray says…” “Peter Gray writes…” “Well, Peter Gray says… ” I don’t begin ALL my sentences that way — I don’t think. Only maybe half. Here’s why: Peter Gray, the evolutionary psychologist who wrote “Free to Learn,” my favorite book about childhood development, is onto something huge. His thesis is that we evolved, as a species, to think, work, create, fight, cooperate, tinker, explore, take risks, solve problems, and succeed together. And the way we get all that underway, in every generation, is… We start out playing. To play is to learn how to be a human being. To…
Author: lskenazy
A mom writes: Dear Let Grow: First of all, thank you so much for the work you have been doing! I just finished reading Free-Range Kids and it was such an eye-opener. Since I am unsure whether I am overreacting, I would like to ask you for your opinion on this situation: My son is turning two at the end of this month and has been going to daycare here in Australia for three weeks now. Yesterday, they had a lockdown simulation at the childcare center, pretending a perpetrator had entered the premises. The educators gathered all children in a small…
Just in case you thought you were living someplace sane, I am here to report that two Colorado child care workers will go on trial this June for presiding over a day care center where a 5-year-old pulled down a 3-year-old’s pants. Twice. Amy Lovato and Roberta Rodriguez of The Schoolhouse day care center in Poncha Springs face criminal charges for not reporting this to the authorities quickly enough, and for putting the children in danger. WE ARE HERE BECAUSE A PRESCHOOLER ACTED LIKE A PRESCHOOLER “Let this fact not be obscured: We are here because one preschooler pulled down…
Children in Virginia can now play outside without their parents getting investigated for neglect. Imagine that! (Connecticut readers — see bottom for action you can take TODAY.) Sunday night, Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed what is colloquially called the “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill — and was formerly known as the Free-Range Parenting bill. It passed both houses unanimously. (Democrats and Republicans AGREED on a PARENTING issue in Virginia? YES.) The bill narrows the state’s neglect laws, which had been so vague and broad that parents were getting investigated simply for letting their kids walk or play outside. “FOUR COPS FOLLOWED ME…
Let Grow is working to pass a Reasonable Childhood Independence bill in Connecticut. We asked citizens there to write letters in support of it. Your jaw will drop as you read the one below. TO SUPPORT THE CONNECTICUT LAW, PLEASE WRITE YOUR OWN LEGISLATOR A LETTER. Find their names and contact info here. DEADLINE IS MARCH 29. The letter-writer asked for anonymity. Granted! We added headlines because that’s what blogs do. Dear Senator, I am writing to you in support of Bill 1048/1133. It clarifies that being unsupervised by an adult does not, by itself, constitute “substantial risk” to a child’s health or well-being.…
An article about to be published in the the Journal of Pediatrics is titled, “Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Wellbeing: Summary of the Evidence.” If that sounds like what we’ve been saying here forever — it is. But AT LAST is it being said in a PRESTIGIOUS JOURNAL read by thousands of pediatricians. The authors are three big names in child development: David Lancy from the Dept. of Anthropology at Utah State, David Bjorklund at the Dept. of Psychology, Fla. State, and our own Peter Gray, a professor in the Dept. of Psychology and Neuroscience at Boston College…
Just one month ago, Flaco the owl was sprung from New York’s Central Park Zoo. Until then the Eurasian Eagle Owl had lived a very safe, sleepy life in, basically, a cozy 1BR apt w/ park vu. He had a tree to perch in, some rocks to, I don’t know, scratch? Bang his bored head against? And for sustenance he received the owl equivalent of Grub Hub — food delivered to him. Perhaps actual grubs. But when his mesh enclosure was snipped open by some miscreant on Feb. 2 (and I swear it wasn’t me), suddenly that spoon-fed, molly-coddled creature…
This fall, just as Keith Kaplan was finishing up his first term as a Teaneck, NJ, Town Councilman, he proposed a Reasonable Childhood Independence bill. It states that when parents allow kids to perform age-old independent activities, like walking or playing outside, they are not guilty of “neglect” unless the kids are in obvious, serious and likely danger. For Kaplan, the bill is especially important. That’s because of an incident he witnessed involving his friends, their daughter, and the police. On Dec. 31, 2020, Kaplan received a text from friends who lived a few blocks away. They wanted to know…
A reader in Corpus Christi sent us this sign from her local library. It’s kind of hard to read, thanks to the glare (and I’m glaring myself!). But after warning that no children can be there during school hours — I guess homeschoolers should avoid the place? — it says that at all OTHER times: “Police may be called if a child under 15 is not accompanied by an adult or older sibling.” I understand that libraries are not free day care centers. But they aren’t strip clubs either. In fact, usually they are filled with books and other…
A very long study of about 1000 adults born in the ’50s and ’60s looked at how they were raised, and whether that upbringing had an impact on their longevity. The researchers found that folks who’d grown up overprotected were more likely to die before age 80 than, I guess, Free-Range Kids (now Free-Range Geezers). As reported in NeuroscienceNews.com: Men who had an overprotective father and little autonomy during childhood may run a 12% higher risk of dying before their eightieth birthday. In the case of women who had an overprotective father, the risk of dying before the age of…