tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859632665177567136.post5399386858819121583..comments2024-03-26T08:48:28.212-07:00Comments on bluemopheads : How to raise self-reliant childrenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07201715001935435214noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859632665177567136.post-65480023060296738772013-01-24T13:49:50.644-08:002013-01-24T13:49:50.644-08:00Yep. Love the skinned knee book and the blog (alt...Yep. Love the skinned knee book and the blog (although I think Skenazy can be sensationalist in order to make her points).<br /><br />One thing I heard long ago which stuck with me is this: No matter how many kids you have, treat them as if they are one of 14. Meaning, it isn't healthy for you or them to get overly involved in the minutiae of their lives. They need freedom to explore who they are, be disappointed, and experience success and failure without being under a parental microscope. Easier said than done! But something of which to be mindful.Elizabethhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07785560594166700477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859632665177567136.post-4833652550580289932013-01-24T07:13:15.244-08:002013-01-24T07:13:15.244-08:00Harper Lee did help Truman Capote research and wri...Harper Lee did help Truman Capote research and write ICB. Read her biography "Mocking Bird." It's fascinating.<br /><br />Skenazy says that the media plays a huge role in making parents more afraid and overly-anxious about letting their kids out of their site. Kids are also seeing violence on TV. She also says that we (parents) tend to think like lawyers -- what if...<br /><br />Watch this interview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xn6PGYD5pUAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07201715001935435214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859632665177567136.post-77782626227781174662013-01-24T05:38:37.960-08:002013-01-24T05:38:37.960-08:00Wow. You both, Allison and Maureen, are inspiring...Wow. You both, Allison and Maureen, are inspiring me. Ever since I read In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (which many think was written, at least partially, by Harper Lee) in high school, I've never been the same. My grandmother lived in the country and her winding beautiful driveway was probably a mile long. Post reading, I never went to sleep in her house again without a touch of anxiety (and she lived until 2005.) Cut to the present.....I tell myself not to read the horror stories....primarily the kidnappings but I do it anyway.....and then I hover and hover and hover. Maybe I can start with baby steps....we'll see. <br /><br />I have another topic I hope Maureen will blog about. Media Violence. I read a NYTs letter to the editor yesterday, "Invitation to Dialogue: Media Violence" by Susan Linn. Ms. Linn is the director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and author of "Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood." She asks, "Do we allow our children to be targets for marketing violent media?" My worry is that I am guilty without even knowing it. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06602824554522935535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2859632665177567136.post-77259946903885602432013-01-23T19:08:59.787-08:002013-01-23T19:08:59.787-08:00I have been doing the free range thing (to some de...I have been doing the free range thing (to some degree or another) since Benjamin, now 13, was in first grade. The reality is that violent crimes against children are less frequent than they were when we were kids, and the only real fear I have for my kids getting around Decatur is the true predator... cars. For that, it takes training and solid rules about what to do to get around safely. Could something happen? Of course it could, but something could happen even if I was there. <br /><br />There are many of us who let our kids rome free at the park- crossing them over Church street and leaving the rest up to them. I leave them alone to run to the grocery, they walk down the street to knock on a neighbor's door, and they walk the dog up to Clairemont, picking up a random gaggle of kids along the way.<br /><br />Marta- well, no... if only for the smell! As you said, Maureen, maybe in a city with better transit. I remember riding a city bus to get to the mall when I was in 5th grade, and that included two changes and a friend to join me<br /><br />I want my kids to have independence. I want them to learn to self monitor and make decisions, and what better place than Decatur. They know almost all of the neighborhood kids, and they do have the savvy- they just need some guidelines and some friends to go along with them. I am a true believer in safety in numbers. I think four is the best number, because, even if someone gets hurt, there is no reason for any child to be alone. <br /><br />With a little one that spends a lot of his life in the hopsital, I have learned that there are a lot of kids who won't live to cross a street or ride their bikes or even knock on a friends door. This is the freedom of youth. Most of our children's lives are dictated by one adult or another. Will they have the skills to navigate the teenage years and make the best desisions if we have made all of them for them? <br /><br />The park, some yogurt, the Oakhurst market, or even the square. I am ready for my kids to venture out. Will you join us? Allison Taylorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06705024552278756453noreply@blogger.com