To be a kid today means to grow up in a culture constantly underestimating your creativity, resilience, gumption, and especially: your curiosity. The hallmark of this era is the assumption that all kids are dullards who would otherwise do and notice NOTHING, if adults weren’t there busily pointing things out every step of the way. […]
Readers — Over at Let Grow we are working to create a list of camps (day camps and overnight) that do not allow phones. If you know of any, please write the camp name/city/state in the comments here, or send it to to us at Camp@LetGrow.org. Meantime, read this story about a camp that gradually […]
Ever feel terrible for being so busy you have to “neglect” your kids? Read on! This story comes to us from Krista Whipple, who lives with her husband and three children in Southern Utah. She is a Montessori theatre teacher and graduate student working on her Master’s in School Counseling. She’s also an artist, writer, […]
WE KEEP HEARING THAT YOUNG PEOPLE ARE INCREDIBLY DEPRESSED AND ANXIOUS. THERE AREN’T ENOUGH THERAPISTS IN THE WORLD TO DEAL WITH IT. SO WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING FASTER, EASIER AND CHEAPER. HERE IT IS! FREE, UNSUPERVISED, UNSTRUCTURED PLAY TIME! A study recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that “Physical activity […]
In 2018, Vanessa Elias launched Big Block Party Weekend in her hometown of Wilton, Connecticut. Her mission was to “build community one block at a time.” That inaugural weekend brought together more than 1,200 residents for approximately 40 block parties. The joy and benefits could be felt immediately and continue to grow. Wilton’s block parties […]
The Surgeon General is right: Loneliness is a massive problem. It’s not just sad, it’s unhealthy. So let’s look at the quickest, easiest way to solve it, at least among kids. Get them playing. Really playing — organizing games, working through arguments, sometimes yelling, sometimes laughing — without an adult fast-forwarding through all of that. Playing is […]
It’s like steak seasoning. The media takes a rather straightforward story and liberally sprinkles its favorite seasoning on it — a zesty mix of fear, hypothesizing, and cherry-picked “man on the street” interviews — and voila! A yummy story the public gobbles down. You can watch this process in action every September when a child […]
Independence Day is every day for families in eight states, including four — Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois, and Montana — that passed a “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill this year. “I’m really excited,” said Evelyn Hackel, a naval architect and mother of Elsa Hackel, age 12. She should be! When Elsa was 9 and walking home from […]
Maybe this will convince other moms not to make outrageous claims on TikTok. The Petaluma, California, “mom-fluencer” who claimed her kids were the victims of an attempted abduction in a Michael’s parking lot has been sentenced to 90 days’ jail time, 30 of which must actually be spent behind bars. On December 7 of 2020 […]
When it turned out that four siblings, aged 1 to 13, had survived in the jungles of Colombia for 40 days after their plane crashed, killing all the adults on board (including their mom), the world was dumbstruck with awe. How could kids that young be that resourceful? “My responses is: ‘They do this routinely,’” […]
