It was a funny article. I agree that these kids need to just be kids.
When my kids were young, we couldn't afford much.....so they HAD to use their imagination.
I gave them plenty love.....but I still let them have their independence.
We bought them a used trampoline. I always knew where they were and they got plenty of exercise!
Our yard was "the fun yard"........and I made plenty of bologna samiches!!!!

I had a blast as a kid. My dad was a cop.....so I didn't get away with anything (my brother on the other hand.........).
We had access to the local beach......a movie theater........Ben Franklin and Rexal Drugstore with a "fountain" at the back of the store where we drank many a "green rivers."
We rode our bikes all over that small town. We had to be in when the street lights went on!!! After dinner, we would play neighborhood hide and seek.
OMGosh.......I could go on and on about the good old days!
I tried to share some of that with my kids.........a lot of good that did!

Oh well........that's life.....and history.
Thanks for sharing :)

I remember chocolate phosphates...do you? And Green River! Playing and running, having fun. And skate keys and roller skating on the sidewalk...

Good memories for sure!

I let my kids walk to the bus stop alone. I had a neighboring mother say that I must want my daughter to be "kidnapped". Sigh. I brushed it off. Rumor (not that I go seeking them, this one came at me), was that the mom was drinking.

All well and good, but a mom in Maryland was arrested for letting her school age kids walk to a park a mile or two away. Pfft.

I've had other mom's try to parent my kids. All fine if my kids were doing something wrong. But not fine if they were telling my kids that they couldn't walk home. I'd often have my kids walk to places rather than getting a ride, just so that the mom didn't feel like my kids were under her control.

At one time it was up to the parents to decide when kids were old enough to be left alone. I was often left in a running car, outside of a store, while my parents ran in for milk or whatever. Now that's also child abuse. Six kids in the back of a pickup...child abuse. And so on and so on.

They won't even let you take the kid home from the hospital unless you can show that you've got a hundred dollar child seat and know how to strap your kid into it. I was about the only parent in the neighborhood, not walking around the neighborhood with my kids on Halloween...even when my kids were 10-12 years old! (I was babysitting at 13.)

All of that said, there were more kids around, at home, when I was a kid. And I didn't live in a "kid" neighborhood. The other 6-16 year olds, are all at one sort of camp or another as their parents work all day. It's not all bad, as the camps do take the kids swimming, to movies, and on trips. BUT some daycare-camps are definitely more expensive than others, take their kids to much more expensive places, and have mini school sessions throughout the summer.

May not make much of a difference for one summer, but after 3-4-6 of them...those kids are definitely reading on a higher level, and have more life experiences than the others. Those kids then make it into the AP high school classes, get the better summer jobs...and the rest is history.

I combated that by teaching my kids a lot at home. But here, they were also bored a lot, and my son has gotten into a big video game habit. On the plus side, he's got a fitted out bike and rides to places to play video games as well as to the fire station. He's miles ahead for being independent.

On the parent side though...the pressure is INTENSE. Pressure from the law (not to break it), pressure from other parents (it really did suck when my son didn't get invited to some places), pressure from schools (Schools ask you to sign stuff every day...which I refused, and spend 30-60 min/ night on homework with the kids. But the point is, my parents were never asked.)

Want to help a new parent? Help them with this overwhelming amount of stuff that's PILED on them. Be the "Nervous Nelly" for the parent, so that they can relax a bit. No one's doing this for fun.



Oh yeah, now in the news is about rice cereal and arsenic. sigh. (I've also been told that I was feeding my kids "poison" in the past...fun world we're in...huh?)

I agree with everything, Patti! And how about making kids wear helmets when they are first learning to ride a big wheel or trike? They're so close to the ground with a big wheel, seems their knees and elbows would be at risk more than their head. What's next? Helmets in high chairs? Helmets while walking or running?

Helicopter parents are creepy in my mind, but like you said, it's the norm and if you differ from the norm, shame on you! I used to babysit when I was 12 or younger. Now they can't walk to the park?

Life skills don't just drop from the sky by magic, they must be learned. And the parents need to let go enough so the kids do learn and develop confidence.