I think I’ve heard it all. It seems you can take any position nowadays, no matter how crazy or usual it sounds and sell it to a world of impressionable and desperate people. Advocating a more lazy, hands-off approach to parenting is certainly unconventional. The claim that families are suffering from “family fatigue” just seems odd:
Children need time and space just to play and to be – if not they’ll end up psychologically damaged and useless, says a British parenting writer and philosopher.
Tom Hodgkinson is author of The Idle Parent, a book that encourages parents to adopt a hands-off approach so that their children become more self-reliant and capable.
… the less free time parents allocate to their children, the more anxious parents seem to become.
Rather than ferrying kids to music lessons, sports games and playgroups, it seems we should be saving our energy and staying at home, dragging out the dress-up or craft box, or sending the kids out into the backyard.
Tags: Children, Education, life, News, Parenting, Psychology, The Idle Parent, Tom Hodgkinson
Topical Teaching 
August 25, 2011 at 12:02 am |
This is just another 180 degree reaction to an extreme way of living. We shouldn’t over schedule nor should we under schedule.
It’s all about balance and what works for your family.
August 25, 2011 at 8:52 am |
I agree with Jennifer. Some of what Hodgkinson says is true–many parents do overschedule their kids’ activities. Everything is so structured these days. Some of my favorite memories of being a kid are puttering around, using my imagination to have fun. I know plenty of kids who seem to have a hard time entertaining themselves if a structured event isn’t planned. I feel fatigued just watching some parents race their kids from school to an after-school activity, to the local McDonald’s to grab dinner, to practice for the first sports team they joined, to the game for the second sports team they joined, and then back home after 8 PM to first start doing homework. Then the next day they’re off to swimming and dance, and so on. I sometimes wonder how many hours of sleep these kids get. It seems like madness to me. Hey, but to each his own. A wise woman with grown children once advised me to do myself a favor and sign my child up for only one sports team per season. I’m glad I followed her advice or I might be typing this with my toes while wrapped in a straitjacket. 😉