Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Free Range Helicopter

This post is about two very different parenting styles. Both have been in the news. Having a parenting style in the first place is new from my generation. Personally, I have no idea what our style would be defined as. Probably somewhere in the middle of Free Range and Helicopter.

Free Range parenting is giving your kids a lot of freedom. One couple has been in the news recently for letting their 10 and 6 year old walk alone to a park about a mile away. They were arrested. The concept is simple. With freedom, your kids learn to be independent.

I agree with that concept in general. But the amount of freedom needs to be age appropriate. I don't know what I would have done in this situation because I don't know the area. Would there be a way to contact them? Was there a set time for them to be home by? I think this level of freedom should be reserved for older kids. I would need more information before forming an opinion on if the parents should have been arrested.

Helicopter parenting is extremely involved parenting. Some moms of multiple kids probably refer to this as the "first baby" method. Babies and small kids need to be watched. A first time mom will watch everything their baby or toddler does. With additional kids, that's not possible. They are watched, but they aren't always being monitored.

Personally, I have always been a mix. I watch Zach but have always given him freedom at appropriate times. That freedom grows slightly as he gets older. There needs to be a balance between too much freedom and too little. But what balance will work depends on the kid, their age, the circumstances, and the parents. It's important to know what's going on in your child's life while teaching them to be independent.

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