Let Grow Project

A Kid By Himself at the Store: Is that Good? Bad?

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"Where is that kid's mother?" That's what the staff at the Village Market in Wilton, CT, wanted to know when a child came in, alone, to make a purchase. "It's my Let Grow Project," the elementary-aged kid explained. "Our homework is to go home and ask our parents if we can do ONE THING on

How a Nervous Mom Got Up the Guts to Let Her Kid, 9, Go for a Bike Ride

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What does it take to let a beloved child finally do something on their own? For Amy Goldstein, it took the Let Grow Project. When her 9-year-old daughter came home with the assignment, "Do something without your parents," Amy had to gulp hard and say, "Okay." The result changed mom AND daughter. If you, too,

Jonathan Haidt Lets His 9-Year-Old Daughter Walk to School Alone for the First Time

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Prof. Jonathan Haidt, co-author of "The Coddling of the American Mind" and one of the three people who joined me in founding Let Grow, posted that lovely Tweet last Wednesday. This was not just a great moment for the Haidt family, it is a great moment for all families hoping to give their kids a

USA Today Talks to Superintendent Who Has 10 Schools Doing The Let Grow Project

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What is the Let Grow Project? It's this: Teachers tell their students to go home and ask their parents if they can do ONE THING ON THEIR OWN that they haven't done yet: Walk the dog, run an errand, make dinner... In the Patchogue-Medford School District of Long Island, all seven elementary schools did the

Here’s What One 8-Year-Old Is Planning to Do on Her Own

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Three schools in Long Island's North Shore School District are doing the Let Grow Project for the first time this week -- the project where teachers have the kids go home and, after discussing it with their parents, do one thing they feel ready to do on their own that they haven't done yet. In these