Are we coddling children too much?

[Anonymous]

As I drove from the burbs into DC this morning, I noticed a 50/50 split of parents who carry their kid’s backpack vs those who do not.

Note: these were school-aged kids, not toddlers or preschoolers, and the bags weren’t excessively large.

Do you carry your kid’s backpack? Why?

Are we coddling kids too much?

[Anonymous]

Yes. And we’ll reap the consequences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. And we’ll reap the consequences.

Do you mean consequences as in, a good way?

The world is so screwed up to the point where parents and home is the only place they are safe. That’s where we are going to see consequences.

[Anonymous]

No, we don't. They will be fine as grownups. May take them a week or two to notice that parents are not around anymore, but they will put their big boy pants on fast.

[Anonymous]

My kids carry their backpacks starting in K. But sometimes I'll carry it part of the way if it is super heavy (like on library day) because we have a long walk.

This seems like a strange thing to classify as coddling, though. I actually do think parents these days overreach in a lot of ways but this doesn't seem that significant.

[Anonymous]

If they have laptops they are heavy bags. My kid doesnt need back problems. She is 7 and 40 lbs. she carries her backpack to school. Sometimes i offer to carry it home.

[Anonymous]

Yes, backpacks being carried by kids versus adults will definitely correlate with the future of humanity. Good job focusing on the important indicators.

[Anonymous]

We have a 15 minute walk and my third grader carries a laptop (mandated by the school) and several textbooks. Also a lunch box and two water bottles. So yes, I sometimes carry the bag for him. It's heavy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As I drove from the burbs into DC this morning, I noticed a 50/50 split of parents who carry their kid’s backpack vs those who do not.

Note: these were school-aged kids, not toddlers or preschoolers, and the bags weren’t excessively large.

Do you carry your kid’s backpack? Why?

Are we coddling kids too much?

Yes. We coddle them far too much.

[Anonymous]

As I drove my wagon through the farmland to town in 1900, I noticed a 50/50 split of parents who hoed their fields vs those who made their kids do so. Do you hoe your own fields? Why? Are we coddling kids too much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a 15 minute walk and my third grader carries a laptop (mandated by the school) and several textbooks. Also a lunch box and two water bottles. So yes, I sometimes carry the bag for him. It's heavy.

FCPS? Yes, same here except the walk is 20 mins. The bag weighs 23 pounds. I’d like to see OP carry over 1/3 of her weight for 40 mins every day.

[Anonymous]

My kid carries her own bag and inside is a rock and a stick so she can learn the old fashioned way.

[Anonymous]

Socrates: "“Children; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. They no longer rise when elders enter the room, they contradict their parents and tyrannize their teachers. Children are now tyrants.”

And somehow, we keep getting better overall as a humanity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes. And we’ll reap the consequences.

Do you mean consequences as in, a good way?

The world is so screwed up to the point where parents and home is the only place they are safe. That’s where we are going to see consequences.

You are a bit paranoid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes. And we’ll reap the consequences.

We already are.

The obsession with wellness was well-intended but it’s gone overboard to the point where kids don’t learn independence and resilience. There is a lot of arrested development out there.