Free Range Kids?
by Cyndi Paxton Johnson
Free Range ChickenAs parents we protect our children - it's our job. Are we keeping them so "safe" that they never get the opportunity to develop independence? I came across two writers today (thanks to Twitter) discussing "Free-Range Kids". Free-range is a hot topic these days, especially for chickens! Our chickens free-range in our fenced back-yard (and lay some awesome tasting eggs!)Yet the term also applies to chickens that receive a few minutes in a small outdoor cage, as well as the lucky chickens who range over 20 water front acres on my friend's farm.
Now let's consider "free-range kids". My kids play outside alone, on our property. This was a big thing when we moved to the Eastern Shore from Frederick, MD - my young children were NOT allowed out without me, even in the fenced backyard. (I couldn't see them from inside) Just last summer I let the older two (ages 9 & 10) ride their bikes to the beach when we visit Grandma. This is a private beach - but it was the first time I let them out of my sight. But I grew up free there, and wanted the same for my kids. [click "read more"]
It's hard to judge and measure our kids safety - when do we cross the line into over-protection? More importantly - how do our children learn to be independent if we never let them out of our sight?
Today I found
http://grassstainguru.com/2009/03/23/going-free-range-are-kids-safe-outside/[_new]"The Grass-Stained Guru - Childhood was meant to be messy" blog. She talks about an upcoming book, Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy. Lenore has raised quite a bit of attention by writing an article for The New York Sun about letting her 9 year old son ride the subway home - alone. She started a
http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/[_new]blog about the issue and began accumulating various points of view, which she has now turned into a book.
In theory, I support the idea of letting our children become more independent. I've noticed I'm more likely to let two or more children leave my watchful eye than I am to let my 7 year old son go into the men's room alone. And really, 7 is too young. I'm just not sure what the age requirement should be. I agree with the above writers that the media has made us hypersensitive to danger - and yet I cannot deny the danger exists, even on our peaceful shore.
So what's the answer? No clue. Like every other aspect of parenting, we'll continue to weigh the pros & cons of every decision we make - and will always be terrified of making the wrong choice. This is the stuff they should cover in the pre-natal classes - or maybe the hee-hee-hooo breathing will work for these transitions, too!
Read the blogs I've mentioned - and let me know where you stand on "free-range kids"!
REGISTER FOR CLASSES AT THE DORCHESTER CENTER FOR THE ARTS
Now that students are back to school, the Dorchester Center for the Arts (DCA) invites the community to participate in upcoming classes and programs. New this session is a tap dancing class for adults and beginner ceramic classes
(PHOTO: Willy Schlossbach, Instructor, is one of the many artists leading classes at DCA this fall.)
Painting
Oil Painting for Beginners and Intermediates, Taught by Tom Ryan
Learn to paint with oils in this class that is great for beginners or students continuing to perfect their skills. Beginners learn the fundamentals of still life painting including color, composition, form, and materials while intermediate students hone existing skills and explore more complex challenges. More advanced students will complete finished, professional quality work. Supply list available. All sessions: Monday mornings, six weeks, 9 a.m. – noon. The fall session begins September 20.
Discovering the “Know How” of Oil Painting, Mary Ekroos, Instructor
Learn the “know how” of creating a painting from your own photos. Students will be shown: how to compose a painting using basic elements in their subjects; how to use light and color; the importance of linear and atmospheric perspectives and how to understand what they see. Basic principles of drawing will be reviewed. The class is oriented toward marine and landscape oil painting and is open to students at all levels of painting experience. A supply list is available. The class will meet for four weeks beginning Monday, October 4. -- cont --
Intermediate Landscape Oil Painting - Expressing Your Own Style, Taught by Willy Schlossbach
This class will teach intermediate and the more advanced oil students painting techniques in landscape and cityscape painting. Students will learn to interpret photographs and ideas into paintings that express themselves and make their paintings distinctively their own. Supply list is available. Thursday afternoons, six weeks; 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. The session begins September 23.
Watercolor
Watercolor for Beginners and Beyond, Taught by Jeanne Ewell
This class introduces basic techniques of watercolor and builds to the more complex. Emphasis will focus on the basics of controlling the medium, color mixing, brush handling, and composition. Demonstrations are part of the class. Beginning and continuing students will receive individual attention while painting a variety of subject matter. Supply list available. The class will meet for six weeks on Thursday mornings from 10 a.m. – noon, beginning September 23.
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I love the concept of "free
Submitted by Barbara (not verified) on Thu, 08/13/2009 - 11:59am.I love the concept of "free range kids" - if only in my dreams. Sadly, my kids are entering adulthood now, but when they were smaller I used to bemoan the fact that they never had the opportunity to dawdle on their way home from school, as I had. (Never mind that they nearly always dawdle when asked to do household chores!) The sad reality is I was guilty of picking them up and whisking them off to their next lesson, practice, rehearsal or appointment, perfecting the art of split-second timing as if it were a good thing. Maybe it would have been better to let them roam around the neighborhood, find their own friends, and get in and out of trouble on their own - sort of a rehearsal for real life. The big question is where to draw the line.