Someone else’s idea of what is overprotective or under-supervised shouldn’t matter one whit, unless a parent shows blatant disregard for a child’s safety and welfare. Ninja flicks with breakfast? Pizza for seven days straight? These are idiosyncratic decisions a parent should be allowed to make. And yet, writes Vivek Sankaran at the University Michigan Law School, we pretend that it is the court, not the parent, who can divine the best interests of the child. Read his ideas over at Let Grow by clicking here. Yummy photo from Unsplash by Alan Hardman.
Author: lskenazy
Friendship is as foundational as anything else in our kids’ lives. Click here to read Ruby Swift Wolens’ reflections on her friendship with Let Grow’s Peter Gray, 68 years ago.
Read the story and look at the other photos over at Let Grow. Click here!
So says Audrey Monke, a camp director for many years, and author of (what else would it be titled?) Happy Campers. Parents of clingy kids as well as kids with special needs may face a more challenging task, but their end goal is the same: More independence. Join the discussion at Let Grow!
Academic superstars and struggling students can all succeed at something. It’s called life. Gary Karlson opened the door for his third graders with a simple homework assignment: Go home and do something — learn something — new, on your own. Full blog post at Let Grow, here.
Jump over to Let Grow (click here) to read my Q&A with parenting historian Jennifer Traig. Suffice to say, some practices that were popular sound a little crazy (scary, stupid, gory, appalling) today.
Freedom and responsibility. There. I’ve ruined the surprise for you. But if you go to Let Grow (by clicking here), you can read a lovely essay on why treating teens like children backfires in a big way.
Jessica Lahey, author of “The Gift of Failure,” drew up a list of calming tips for a good school year. Check them out — and add your own — here, at Let Grow!
When 18-month-old Baby Jessica fell down a well in 1987, the country was wracked with worry — but did not seem ready to rip the mom to shreds. Over at Let Grow (click here) we’re wondering how the public would react to the same incident today? Please join the conversation!
Clearly, screens are attractive. (I mean, here it is, a glorious Sunday morning and what am I up to???) But when we tsk tsk about kids’ screen time, we have to make sure that they aren’t turning to tech because that’s the only place we still allow them to hang out together. At Let Grow we discuss dana boyd’s research on kids and screens, and ask for your stories, too. Click here (since you are obviously online now too. Hi, my friends!).