Head Tale

Shea's on a mommy board (er, an online message board for moms if that's not clear) where they're currently having a discussion about “free range parenting”.

This is the idea that you should allow your children lots of freedom to explore, learn and become self-reliant (ie. presumably the way that many of us grew up.) 

From the MetaFilter thread I link to below…

There was a really amazing article out of England about a year ago
about the distances youths travel. Basically, the grandfather would
walk several Km to his favorite fishing hole as a child, and he never
fell in, never drowned, never died, never got raped or molested. Then
the father (the author of the article) as a child would routinely
travel several hundred yards away from home as a young child to visit
his favorite swimming hole, alone, or with friends…and he was always
fine, and that was the 60's/70's. Now this guy has a kid, and that kid
isn't allowed outside of his yard, and the author basically just
discussed the affects of quashing the exploratory and independent side
of young boys.


As evidenced by the story above, many parents today are a lot more protective, hovering over their children, fearful that a pedophile lurked around every corner or that children were fragile little creatures who can't cross the street by themselves, let alone go down the block to the playground to hang out with friends unsupervised (“Hey kids, time for a PLAY DATE!” ) 

On the mommy board, someone linked to an article that's causing an uproar in the States, written by a mom who let her nine year old find her own way home on the subway.  I can't link to the discussion on the mommy board because it's members-only (er, which probably is more proof about the paranoia of new parents these days.  When I was a kid, the Internet was about openness, dammit!  Of course, ironically, being closed does allow people to be more open – the recent discussion about the mommy's sex lives post-pregnancy was very revealing.  Also very disturbing since we know a few of the posters to the board in real life.  Oh, and apparently half the new dads in Regina are on the verge of divorce from the sounds of it!) 

Anyhow, I logged in to good ol' Metafilter to find that the discussion was raging there too.  So if you're interested in the topic, have a peek.

Here's a bonus list…

TEN THINGS I DID (OR WAS ALLOWED TO DO) AS A KID WHICH I'M NOT SURE IF I'LL LET PACE DO OR NOT
1. Drove vehicles on the farm and back roads without adult accompaniment or supervision.  (Shea was instructed to tell the cops that she stole the vehicle if she was in an accident so her parents would still have insurance! )

2. Got left in the toy area of the department stores in Regina while my parents shopped.  Often got “lost” when I got bored and went looking for them. 

3. Left home at 9am on a summer day.  Wandered all over town with friends doing whatever we wanted to do.  Made it home by sun down at 10pm.

4. Rode my bike to a nearby lake (is 10km nearby?  When you're a kid it is) on a semi-busy highway (especially in summer).  Didn't wear a helmet (or knee pads or elbow pads.)  The bike had no light.  No bell.  And very crappy brakes. 

5. Rode a small motorcycle to a nearby friend's farm, traveling on a gravel road and crossing one highway (this is Shea's contribution to the list)

6. Swam in a dugout. (“A characteristic feature of the Saskatchewan farming landscape is the
dugout, a large excavation designed to catch the spring runoff from the
fields.“)

7. Ate dirt.  And small rocks.  And grass.  And leaves.  And random berries off random bushes and trees.  And probably worms. 

8. Walked to school in -40 weather (“uphill both ways” – oh wait, that's our parents' tall tale, not ours.)  Went outside at recess and played for fifteen minutes.  When school was over, stayed outside playing some more.

9. Talked to strangers.  Occasionally got in their cars and/or went in their houses and/or took food or other pro-offered items from them. 

10 Ran with scissors (okay, I don't remember doing this for sure but I'm fairly certain I must have at some point.)

In conclusion, here's an article on “The Over-Parenting Crisis” and a TED talk on “5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kid Do“

(Ever notice that my posts have a lot more “meat” on the weekends?  Funny how that is…)