Free-range Parenting

What experts say about raising your child with limited parental supervision

- Chris Hart

Long ago when I was a boy, my mum’s idea of was to throw me out of the house, saying don’t come back before dinner. Needless to say, I also walked to school on my own!

At the time, no-one thought that unusual. But nowadays, especially in America, such parenting is unthinkable, even though the world is a far safer place than it was when I was a boy. These days, parents believe that any time their kids are unsupervised, they’re in danger. That idea is completely wrong. It has its origins in news channels and the way they emphasize crimes against children, and the endless campaigners and lawyers who’ve convinced everyone that there are no innocent accidents, only people perpetuated screw ups.

When my mum sent me, age 7, to walk to school, she didn’t worry if she didn’t hear from me all day, because there were no cellphones. Nowadays, instead of receiving sympathy when something goes wrong, American parents can expect immediate and endless Internet hate: ‘Why didn’t she GPS him?’ ‘Why wasn’t she there?’

That’s what’s driving parents to be so vastly overprotective. The fear of everyone blaming you if something bad happens. Somehow, because parents can monitor their kids all the time, not watching them is considered immoral. Laws in America reflect that. Many states specify how old a child must be to walk to school. For example, in Illinois, they must be 11 to be left alone or with a younger child at home.

THE DOWNSIDE OF BEING OVERPROTECTIVE