You may recall Katy, the mom who told her 6-year-old to sit by the luggage for a little bit at Newark Airport while she ran to get them food. The girl got nervous and wandered off, only to be found by some kindly stranger who brought her to a lady in uniform, who quickly returned the girl to where she’d been waiting. The mother and child reunion was only a moment away. The problem is not just that this interlude was, understandably, upsetting. It’s the fact that ever since it happened, mom and daughter have been talking about it many…
Author: lskenazy
Below a bracing little video to remind us all that helicopter parenting is like Covid — something you just breathe in these days. It’s not because YOU are particularly nervous or hovering or crazy. It’s just out there, spreading like a hyper-infectious SARs variant. And I guess you could says the “Paxlovid” is simply to give your kids a little bit of freedom and realize it lets you breathe much easier. Okay. Enough with the Covid analogies! Here’s the video. And please tell me if you have had a similar experience! Note: This mom talks about The Let Grow Project…
Got this letter recently, from a very shaken mom: My name is Katy, and I stumbled upon your website yesterday, while searching for stats on how often kids lost at airports get abducted. The thing is, a few days ago my 6-year old daughter got lost (and found) at the Newark airport at the busiest time of the day, and it was all my fault — I overestimated her maturity and ability to wait for me for a few minutes, while I went to buy some food for our flight. I read your website all night…. Read the rest of…
We have several psychologists working on a white paper addressing this very issue right now: What age are kids DEVELOPMENTALLY ready to, say, walk to the store, or to school, or to the neighbor down the block to borrow a rake? Brain, body and consciousness-wise, kids are ready to understand rules and act responsibly by age five, or maybe even four. (Let Grow co-founder Peter Gray concurs.) But brain development alone does not mean kids are ready for the “real world,” because they need instruction and experience as well. So, if you want your child to learn how to cross…
Teachers! Principals! Counselors! Headmasters! If BEFORE the pandemic kids were passive, anxious and depressed, now they’re passive, anxious and depressed with a passive, anxious, depressed cherry on top.To bring kids back to life, some educators went straight to the problem: Kids had lost their excitement, curiosity and initiative? They would re-ignite it with THE LET GROW PROJECT.That’s a homework assignment that tells kids to go home and do something NEW, on their OWN, without their parents (but with their blessing, of course). Our implementation guide is free! Watch 3 educators describe The Project in 2 minutes, below.End the school year…
Take your kids to a drag show, expect a knock at your door. It won’t be The Village People. Government intervention is an option Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was mulling out loud last week when reporters asked whether he’d consider legally punishing parents who bring their kids to a place like Mr. Misster. That’s the Dallas gay bar that held a “family friendly” drag event someone posted on Twitter. (Which was basically like throwing a Molotov cocktail into a nuclear reactor near an active volcano on the 4th of July.) “We have child protective statutes on the books,” DeSantis said. Framing…
The fact that a question like that — “How safe is it to let young children run errands alone?” — is fodder for a news article just shows the era we are living in. An era when normal childhood activities, as well as normal parental decisions, are framed as a threat. Or at least something that requires an “expert” opinion. (As if, by the way, there’s a single answer that covers all kids, everywhere.) That “How safe?” question was just one of cascade of safety queries sent to me by a network reporter. I answer several of them over at…
Five kids at a working class school on Long Island gathered to chat with me a few weeks ago about the afterschool activity they’ve been doing all year, twice a week: Playing. Plain, old PLAYING. The school started offering a Let Grow Play Club, whereby an adult is supervising. But they don’t organize the games or solve the spats. They’re like a lifeguard at the beach, only jumping in when there’s an emergency. And so the kids figured out on their own what they like to do and who they like to play with, and how to solve the arguments.…
This whole movement needs an anthem — and at last we’ve got one: “Go Play Outside” to the tune of “I will Survive,” as written by yours truly and performed and filmed by the New York City Guitar School. Here you go! Lyrics below the video: Go Play Outside: The Let Grow Theme Song Sung to “I Will Survive” By Lenore Skenazy ( Lenore@LetGrow.org ) At first I was afraid, I was petrified I thought my kids could not survive if they weren’t safe inside But then they spent so many days Eating Fritos on the floor Sponge Bob…
Folks, I “live-Tweeted” this yesterday: Walked by my local elementary school. Stopped to watch the kids playing at recess. So much joy. Teacher told me I, on public sidewalk on other side of fence, no phone or photo taking, am not allowed to stand and watch the kids. She is calling security now. At first I walked away, because I am scared of confrontations. But then my curiosity and umbrage got the best of me and I walked back to see what would happen next. For reference: The sidewalk runs alongside the playground. There’s a big chain link fence between…