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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Were the parents too busy to supervise their kids?  I am all for independence but a 10 yr shouldn't be watching a 6yo.[/quote]

No, they put a lot of thought into teaching their children early independence. It's part of their [b]"Free Range Kids" philosophy[/b] (of the eponymous book). I don't agree with it, but feel that if their kids have been trained to cross roads, react appropriately to strangers, etc, then they are in fact safer than if it was a true case of neglect and just dumping the kids spontaneously.

[/quote]

I wish this expression had never been coined.  The term "free range parenting" connotes that other, non-free-range parenting (helicopter parenting?  hands-on parenting?) is the standard, and that "free-range" is a deviation from that.  That it is strange or weird or somehow deviant.

In my 20910/downtown Silver Spring world, the choice these parents made (I won't use the above term) constitutes plain-vanilla "parenting."  Full-stop.  My own children have walked Georgia Avenue many times, unsupervised.  They didn't do so at those ages, but it doesn't shock me to think that children those age would - I routinely sent my boys to the barber shop on Georgia with money for a haircut, unsupervised and with money in their pockets.  At 11, my son would ride his bike to the comics shop on Fenton (not far from Georgia) to spend his allowance.  No need for us to go along.

I myself did exactly what these children do as a child.  At 6, I was riding my bike to the library to check out books.  At 10, I was riding a bus to dance lessons with my best friend, and buying an ice cream on our way home.

These sorts of small freedoms lay the groundwork for confidence and competence.  A child who is unaccustomed to navigating the world becomes a teen and later adult who has troubles with this as well.  A child who never has to develop resourcefulness becomes an adult who has trouble solving problems.  If we as parents do not give our children the opportunities they need to develop these skills, then no one else will.[/quote]

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