Interesting post, over on The Grass Stain Guru, about “Take Your Child To The Park… And Leave Them There Day” on Saturday, May 22.
No, this isn’t “abandon your kid day” or “leave your toddler at the park day.” But this “day” is meant for kids as young and 7 and 8.
Author Lenore Skenazy talks about this concept on her blog, Free Range Kids. She says: “The idea behind it is simple: Most of us want our children to play outside and have fun, but this is impossible because there aren’t any OTHER kids outside for our kids to play with. It’s a problem folks often cite as the reason they won’t be participating in the holiday. But that’s precisely the reason TO join in!”
What do you think? Would you take your second grader to your local park to meet friends and drop him off, saying “I’ll be back in two hours, honey!” Even with a cell phone at your child’s disposal, would you be comfortable doing this? Why? Or Why not?
Are we overprotecting our kids and keeping them from enjoying some of the freedoms we had as gradeschoolers? Or are we being wise and careful parents be keeping a tighter watch on our them?