https://forums.shipoffools.com/ Sat, 11 Apr 2026 23:36:40 +0000 en parenting — Ship of Fools https://forums.shipoffools.com/discussion/6877/free-range-parenting Wed, 08 Apr 2026 22:03:02 +0000 Epiphanies Gramps49 6877@/discussions https://wjla.com/news/local/silver-spring-parents-charged-with-child-neglect-for-allowing-kids-to-walk-home-alone-112094

Historical memory: How many of us remember playing unsupervised with other kids either in the neighborhood, at a park, or even across town?

Seems like over the years parents have become so hypervigilant, needing to know where their kids are at one time. Kids these days go from one organized activity to another with very little down personal time. Either that, or they are so focused on playing games on their phone, they have little creative time.

Maybe we should advocate for Free Range Parenting. For younger kids, close to home, but as the kids get older let the range expand. After all, it is not like we don't have the capability to track them with trackers you can place in their clothing or on their smart phones. Maybe we should tell middle schoolers get out of the house and don't come back till the street lights come on.

There are many advantages to allowing kids to have independent thought, take some risk, interact with the world on their own.

Yes, there are risks. But parenting means preparing the kids to know what to do in some situations.

https://www.choosingtherapy.com/free-range-parenting/

https://psychcentral.com/blog/do-kids-have-too-much-freedom#recap

Placing this in Epiphanies because I think what I have said can evoke some personal experiences both positive and negative.]]>