"Race to Nowhere"

After seeing their website and watching the film trailer, I am going to see the film Race to Nowhere at the first opportunity I get.  I think the message of this film is one all parents, educators, and people who work with kids need to hear.  Our kids need more chances for relaxation and fun and not this constant pressure to be productive, get high grades, and be super athletes.  If our goal is to have happy, well-adjusted kids who grow into happy, well-adjusted adults, then we can't follow our culture's current norms.

These "tips for parents" seem really basic, but I think are worth passing along as we try to help our children be less stressed and happier:
http://www.racetonowhere.com/parents

Any other ideas that have helped in your family?  Please share your comments!

To see the movie trailer, click here.

The Movement against "Over-Parenting"

 “The insurgency goes by many names — slow parenting, simplicity parenting, free-range parenting — but the message is the same: Less is more; hovering is dangerous; failure is fruitful. You really want your children to succeed? Learn when to leave them alone. When you lighten up, they'll fly higher. We're often the ones who hold them down.”
-Nancy Gibbs, “The Case Against Over-Parenting,” Time Magazine, November 30, 2009

I couldn’t resist picking up the Time magazine with the cover showing a kid with puppet strings and the title  “The Case Against Over-Parenting.”  I knew this was something I needed to read.  I had never heard the term “Over-Parenting” before, but I knew right away what it was, because I often find myself saying and doing things for my kids that I KNOW are too much. 

Click to read the article: “The Case Against Over-Parenting” by Nancy Gibbs.

The article led me to start my research on this new “insurgency.”  I started with Lenore Skenazy’s book Free-Range Kids:  Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry.   I had many “ah ha” moments reading Skenazy’s book. 

How independent do we want our kids to be?

In the July/August, 2008, issue of Stanford Magazine, one of the most interesting articles was one that showed survey answers of the graduating seniors from the class of 2008. The question and answer that drew my attention was, “How often are you in touch with your parents (by phone or electronic means)?” 6.1% responded with “More than once per day, and 18.9% responded with “Daily.”
I am fairly certain that the parents of these graduating seniors did not talk to their own parents daily during their college years.

Great Parents Send their Kids to Camp

“You’re sending Sophia to camp for TWO WEEKS?”

Shock is a common response camp parents get when discussing camp plans with other parents. Some people even infer that they are “bad parents” to allow their children out from under their supervision. In this “helicopter” parenting age, the thought of allowing an eight year old to go away to camp for two weeks is incomprehensible to people who don’t understand the value of camp. What these “non-camp” parents don’t understand is that allowing your child a camp experience is a gift that has positive, life-long benefits beyond learning how to sail or rock climb. Camp parents aren’t bad parents who “send their children away.” Instead, they are great parents who let their children spread their wings.