If you want to get straight to the story over at Let Grow, click here. It comes to us from Phyllis Fagell, author of “Middle School Matters,” and it’s about her son who, a few years ago, found himself in a very confusing place (literally, figuratively) in China. The fact that he had to figure out what to do in a foreign country, in the dark, not knowing the language, or where he was supposed to be, and NOT HAVING A PHONE is a testament not just to the kid’s moxie (and perhaps his parents’ parenting?). It is also a…
Author: lskenazy
The folks at Highlights are truly kind. But when kids write to them for advice, they don’t get out the violins. They give the kids real-world, practical ideas for how to take action and change what’s bothering them, or, if that’s impossible, how to make peace with whatever it is and go forth stronger and more hopeful. You’ll feel more hopeful, too, reading the new book, “Dear Highlights: What Adults Can Learn from 75 Years of Letters and Conversations with Kids.” I review it today over at Let Grow. Click here. What kind of practical advice am I talking about?…
The other day I was interviewed by Maggie Rodriguez, host of the show Daytime, who confessed to parental anxiety — and so did I. I added that the only thing that I’ve seen that takes the fear down a notch or ten is seeing your kid do something on their own. You need to change your behavior before you can change your mindset, even though that is obviously hard (because your mindset has yet to change!). Below is our 4-minute chat. Afterward, Maggie wanted to continue the conversation, so she interviewed me for Tampa Parenting. Here’s our Q and A…
That’s not just this blog blowing its own horn. It’s The Guardian that’s doing the blowing. In a huge article this week, that paper quotes me and a gaggle of fellow travelers, worrying about things like: “I was concerned that it’s becoming weird to let your kids outside without either an adult, a cell phone or a GPS of some sort. Kids spend four to seven minutes outside in unstructured, unsupervised time a day here in America.” Ok, so that was me. But others talk about the fact this is not our imagination — including University of Exeter Child Psychology…
Contrary to the predictions, many kids’ mental well-being went up, not down, early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s the conclusion of Let Grow’s co-founder Dr. Peter Gray, whose analysis appears in The American Journal of Play. In April and May of 2020, Let Grow conducted several large-scale online surveys of kids 8—13, and parents. These families hailed from across the geographic, demographic and economic spectrum. Surprise! The results turned out to be the opposite of what mental health experts feared at the start of the pandemic. In fact, when given a list of adjectives to describe their moods, three…
Starting Sunday, Let Grow will be accepting entries to its second annual Let Grow Independence Challenge! From Aug. 1 -7 we want PHOTOS of kids doing things on their own. Aug. 8 – 14 we want VIDEOS! Last year’s entries were just great — kids sewing, mowing, baking, biking, stretching themselves in all sorts of ways. So send your kids out to do something they’re ready to do but haven’t done yet. And then share the growth with us. Good luck! Sunday I will give you the link to the entry form!
Drew Perkins is a thought leader in the world of education. He’s also the dad of two girls, 12 and 14. After I was on his TeachThought podcast discussing The Let Grow Project (a “homework assignment” where students have to go home and do something new, on their own, preferably outside the house), he got really excited about doing it with his own kids. And what they had never done was go to the supermarket, together, without a parent. Last week’s simple Kroger run shifted the family dynamics. I just saw a tweet from Drew saying now his younger…
Get your Let Grow Independence Kit by clicking here. It’s an at-home version of our popular Let Grow Project — a whole bunch of ideas of things that kids might want to start doing on their own, as well as a little explanation of how fortifying it can be when we let them do just that: take the reins and even leave their comfort zone. In a society that keeps trying to undermine trust in our kids and their capabilities, the Independence Kit is a way to say, “Enough already! Let me see what my kids can do without me…
As more states start to pass what we used to call “Free-Range Parenting” laws (and now call “Reasonable Childhood Independence” laws), some lawmakers are willing to go along, or even sponsor such legislation — with a caveat. They want the laws to include an age limit, like, “A child of 9 or above can ride their bike, play outside, stay home alone for a while….” These lawmakers are well-intentioned, but they miss a basic fact of parenting: Sometimes a 9-year-old is playing outside with his 4-year-old sister. Is that okay, or not? Under a law with age limits it isn’t…
“When kids are trusted with free time to figure things out on their own, they start working on their very first job: making something happen,” North Dakota State Business Prof. Clay Routledge and I write in a USA Today column: But what happens when they don’t? What happens when, from birth through post-college ‘adulting’ classes, there’s always a well-meaning parent or professional standing right next to them, coaching, teaching, high-fiving, helping them get a leg up — sometimes literally? American entrepreneurship has been declining over the same decades overprotection has increased — from the 1970s till now — and Clay…