There was an opinion piece in the New York Times this weekend called “Raising Successful Children” which generated quite a bit of discussion.
The article examines the latest parenting research which found that giving children autonomy and allowing them to make mistakes leads to the best long-term outcomes.
My parents did a great job with this. I was sent to a sleep-away summer camp for the most of the summer every year in my formative years. I feel like this helped shape who I am more than almost anything else.
I worked for a wonderful organization called Amigos de las Americas which provides opportunities for young people to live in remote villages Latin America, where their autonomy is simply not in question.
These types of experiences can really help young people develop confidence in their abilities. The Times article lays out research to prove this hypothesis.
But it seems that it has become harder for parents to give their children space to make mistakes and to develop their independence. The article points out that there has been much attention devoted to “helicopter parents” and “tiger mothers” in the news in recent years.
I am not a parent and I can imagine that it would be difficult to find the balance between protecting your children and letting your children forge their own path. But I am intrigued and curious about what makes it more difficult for parents to do this today than when I was younger.
Certainly, when I was younger, we had parents who lived vicariously through their children, but I don’t feel like there was quite as much of what I see as overprotecting children.
What do you think? Do you think that parents are more protective now of their children that when you were young? Do you think this has to do with the increased dangers in our society like gun violence and crime? Do you struggle with this as a parent? Have you found any tips or strategies you would like to share with others?
I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading.
If you liked this, you might also like:
The Ritalan Generation: Why do some children fall behind in school? (newsofthetimes)
The Power of Strengths and Weaknesses: Giving kids permission to just be (newsofthetimes)
A New Kind of Playground: What happens when young children are connected with technology? (newsofthetimes)