Let Grow Blog

By Let Grow

Read Time: 3 minutes

Independence Therapy Works. Just Ask My Patient, A Girl, 11, With Autism

I was treating a girl with Autism who would always say, "That's too hard," or, "My mom will do it for me." But everything changed -- dramatically -- when I...
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  • Let Grow Play Club
By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 2 minutes

High School Coach Sued after Freshman Ruins Ankle Sliding Into Third. Seven Years Later, the Trial Begins. Is This the End of Youth Sports?

Enormous kudos to Steve Politi for writing such a gripping story in NJ.com that my heart is STILL pounding. It begins: John Suk sits with shoulders slouched and his head...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 2 minutes

This is Heavy: The Possible Connection Between Witch-Hunting in History and Mom-Blaming Today

After yesterday's post, about a mom being charged with child abuse after her 3-year-old son died in a freak escalator accident (as if all accidents can be prevented, as if...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

Heartless and Pointless: Mom Now Charged in Death of 3-Year-Old Who Fell Off Escalator at Airport in Freak Accident

What a horrible, horrible tragedy -- times two. Jiterria Lightner and her three kids, 4, 3 and 2, were at the Charlotte Airport on their way home from a trip...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 2 minutes

Children Are Becoming Less Active in Their Elementary School Years, Ages 6 to Age 11. We’d Like to Hear Your Solutions

It's no surprise, perhaps, that kids are becoming less active once their school years begin. But it is a surprise that in the Oreo creme filling years of life --...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

Why Are Young Americans Today So Much Less Trusting Than Older People Are?

Maybe it was always thus -- that the older you get, the more trust you develop. That's the most positive spin we can put on a new Pew Research study...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

How Very Modern: The Post-Halloween NextDoor Discussion of What Kids Were Caught Doing, Thanks to Ring

Margaret describes herself as "a svelte mom of two living in the Midwest who likes to remember the days when mischievous kids were forgiven instead of held up for public...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

Could the Recent Decline in Children’s Reading Skills Be Due to the Decline in Free Play?

This letter wondering if the decline in reading skills could be linked to a decline in plain old playing comes to us from Barbara Chutroo, a social worker and dance/movement therapist...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 1 minute

A 7-Year-Old Girl Gets Lost on Her Way to School in the Big City, But She Knows What to Do!

From the land of uber-independent kids comes this email (edited to correct the grammar mistakes): Dear Let Grow: We are reading your blog here in Germany...with mild amusement. Here's what...
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By linchpin

Read Time: 4 minutes

4 Surprising, Science-Backed Benefits of Free Play

It won't come as a surprise to Let Grow families that a healthy amount of unstructured play is vital for whole-child growth, development, and well-being. We know it gets kids...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

Be Inspired By This Let Grow Project Success Story

When third grade teacher Gary Karlson heard about the Let Grow Project, he saw it as a way to make an important lesson meaningful at last. "For years we put...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 5 minutes

Let’s Bring Childhood Independence to Your Home and Community

Ready to raise strong, confident kids?
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 3 minutes

Set Teenagers Free: How to Promote Teen Independence

Kerry McDonald is a senior education fellow at the Foundation for Economic Education. She's also the author of Unschooled: Raising Curious, Well-Educated Children Outside the Conventional Classroom. Here, she shares...
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