Kids Unleashed

Will Doig, writing for Salon, has a great piece exploring our kids’ lack of independence:

So naturally, children can now be found romping unsupervised throughout our neighborhoods, acquiring the intuition, resourcefulness and sense of independence that such a childhood provides, right?

Actually, no. In the time since Skenazy walked off to kindergarten alone, the number of children that can be found in public without supervision has only diminished. In one survey, 85 percent of mothers said they allowed their kids outside unsupervised less frequently than they themselves were allowed. In Britain, the average age of children allowed to play outside adult-free has risen by more than a year since the ’70s, and 25 percent of 8- to 10-year-olds have never played outside without an adult. One study diagrammed the shrinking distances that four generations of one family’s kids were allowed to stray from home: six miles in 1919, one mile in 1950, half a mile in 1979, and 300 yards today.

I grew up with 30+ acres to explore, mostly without direct supervision, so the idea of unleashing our kids seems natural to me. There is much to be gained, for both kids and parents, by allowing kids to have an appropriate level of independence.

UPDATE: Also see how one family went from unsupervised kids walking 6 miles to 300 yards in 4 generations.