Article Category: Parenting

By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

Resist the Pressure to Micromanage Halloween

What a phenomenal piece in today's New York Times by Jessica Grose, the former parenting editor there. She is begging parents to "Stop Micromanaging Halloween," a trend we've seen ever...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 4 minutes

BIG STUDY: Parents WANT to Promote their Kids’ Independence…but Don’t

Most parents believe it’s important for kids to develop independence in their elementary school years by doing things “away from direct adult supervision,” according to a new survey by the...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 4 minutes

Over the Decades, As Kids’ Independence Declined, Their Anxiety Increased

This article in the Journal of Pediatrics -- Decline inIndependent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Wellbeing: Summary ofthe Evidence -- has been getting a tsunami of...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 4 minutes

Stop Trailing Your Trick or Treaters by Car!

Today's timely Trick or Treating post comes to us from Dixie Dillon Lane, an American historian and mother of four enthusiastic trick-or-treaters. She is an associate editor for Hearth & Field. You...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

JOY: Abducted Girl is Found Safe! What This Means for Parents

Joy, amazement, gratitude – fantastic emotions are surging through a whole lot of us today, for Charlotte Sena, the 9-year-old abducted while riding her bike in upstate New York, has...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 1 minute

A Missing Child and The Terror We All Feel

As of this moment, a 9-year-old girl, Charlotte Sena, is missing in upstate New York. She was camping with her family on Saturday. Last seen, she was on a bike...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 2 minutes

Even The “Hunt, Gather, Parent” Kid Gets Stopped by the Cops

Michaeleen Doucleff is author of the incredibly great, scales-falling-from-our eyes book, "Hunt, Gather, Parent." She and her daughter Rosy traveled the world to witness the parenting practices that have been...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 4 minutes

Growing Up in Public

Obviously, technology that didn’t exist when most of us were kids is now an everyday part of childhood. That’s why we devoured “Growing Up in Public,” the brand new book...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

Let Grow and “Independence Therapy” in The New York Times: Hope for Anxious Kids

What if one of the big reasons kids are so anxious is simply this: They're micromanaged by adults? As we've often noted here, kids are increasingly in adult-run classes, clubs,...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 2 minutes

Houston Parents Get Schools to Restore Recess

Seems like there are big changes underway in about a third of Houston's public schools. The one that play activist Rusty Keeler brought to Let Grow's attention involves what many...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 5 minutes

Kids Need to Feel That They Matter

Jennifer Breheny Wallace is a journalist, mom, long-time friend of Let Grow, and now the author of a book coming out today, “Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic —...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 2 minutes

Teach Your Child to Look at Clouds. Um — What?

To be a kid today means to grow up in a culture constantly underestimating your creativity, resilience, gumption, and especially: your curiosity. The hallmark of our era is the mistaken...
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