Do you remember your childhood? How did you get to school, how did you entertain yourself?
And how do you treat your children now?
I’m sure you can spot the difference. Back then, we got ourselves to school, often over several kilometres, and after school we entertained ourselves on any spare piece of land. Games were created and changed on whims, playmates enjoyed for the participation in the activities. If there was a knock or a tumble, then we would look for a parent for momentary comfort, and then get straight back into the fray again.
And where did this get us? Take a look at yourself now: an average, well-adjusted adult no doubt. So the rough and tumble, independence and self reliance has not harmed us in the least.
What about your children now? You probably drop them off to a school less than a kilometre away (using an urban tractor in all likelihood, but more on that another time), and stand over your child in the playground saying “don’t do this, don’t do that”, in case they hurt themselves. Today’s play areas are full of every known safety device. And a number of the games that we enjoyed as children have been banned from schools and playgrounds. Are our children that much frailer than we were only 30 years ago? I doubt it.
What we are doing is creating a generation of children who do not know how to take a knock, who have not developed a self reliance, who depend on others to always hold their hands and tell them their limits. When our children grow into adults, will you still be there to protect them?
If they can not learn how to get on in life in the, relative, safety of the playground, how will they ever manage when they get out into the real world?
It is time for us to step back and let our children experience life fully as children, so that they are better equipped to enjoy life fully as adults.
And I’m not the only one who thinks like this – refer to the following link created on October 19th:
This entry was posted on March 19, 2008 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Social Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Wrapping Our Children in Cotton Wool
By goodtalkingDo you remember your childhood? How did you get to school, how did you entertain yourself?
And how do you treat your children now?
I’m sure you can spot the difference. Back then, we got ourselves to school, often over several kilometres, and after school we entertained ourselves on any spare piece of land. Games were created and changed on whims, playmates enjoyed for the participation in the activities. If there was a knock or a tumble, then we would look for a parent for momentary comfort, and then get straight back into the fray again.
And where did this get us? Take a look at yourself now: an average, well-adjusted adult no doubt. So the rough and tumble, independence and self reliance has not harmed us in the least.
What about your children now? You probably drop them off to a school less than a kilometre away (using an urban tractor in all likelihood, but more on that another time), and stand over your child in the playground saying “don’t do this, don’t do that”, in case they hurt themselves. Today’s play areas are full of every known safety device. And a number of the games that we enjoyed as children have been banned from schools and playgrounds. Are our children that much frailer than we were only 30 years ago? I doubt it.
What we are doing is creating a generation of children who do not know how to take a knock, who have not developed a self reliance, who depend on others to always hold their hands and tell them their limits. When our children grow into adults, will you still be there to protect them?
If they can not learn how to get on in life in the, relative, safety of the playground, how will they ever manage when they get out into the real world?
It is time for us to step back and let our children experience life fully as children, so that they are better equipped to enjoy life fully as adults.
And I’m not the only one who thinks like this – refer to the following link created on October 19th:
http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411749/2214506
Tags: banned, Childhood, cotton wool, dependance, don't do that, independance, limits, overprotective, playground, rough & tumble, safety, self reliance, take a knock
This entry was posted on March 19, 2008 at 2:54 pm and is filed under Social Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.