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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It's a symptom of a bigger issue in current parenting trends:

Kids need experience failures in order to learn how to grow. Yet American parents are increasingly willing and able to step in and prevent their kids from failing. [/quote]

This is a cheap "blame the parents" strategy that doesn't go deep enough. WHY are parents stepping in to do for their kids what previous generations might've let kids struggle through? Because there's far less time to deal with the consequences of these struggles. When homemaker mom was home to deal with skinned knees and errant sports equipment and running the occasional forgotten lunch to school, it made sense to let kids tinker and try. Now, with most families having two parents working outside the home, life is managed to the details to make sure schedules stay on track and things get done in the limited amount of "free" time parents might have.

It isn't necessarily a choice or a failing on the part of the parent(s).[/quote]

I think this has merit. My friends who stay at home are able to have less structure afterschool and during the summer, so they can let their younger kids experiment more. Mine needed to be in full time camps all day and aftercare.  They can pick up their older kids who linger after school to get snacks, or hang out with friends at a park. Their kids can be dropped and picked up at the pool during the summer, walking to and from their tennis lessons or grabbing pizza at a nearby restaurant. Their kids have built more independence because they have the luxury of having a parent available as needed. We let our kids as much as possible have these freedoms, but until they drive, we are just stuck with what is possible with two working parents with limited availability on weekdays year round.[/quote]

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