In my opinion, childhood today is very over supervised and children are too protected. I think this because growing up, my dad let me run around outside in the woods alone and climb trees and free dive for crabs, because that’s how he was raised, but it came to my attention that my friends' parents weren't so kind, and they couldn't go outside unsupervised. Having this freedom gave me a sense of independence and safety because I knew how careful I should always be, while now my friends back home can’t climb trees or do dangerous things because they don't have their safety net, and yes, I have a few scars from rocks and trees, these are signs of character and always remind me of the fun I had.
Today I think child supervision is unneeded under the right circumstances. If we are constantly under supervision at a young age it would be hard to make memories or a memorable experience. When I was little I was able to feed seal fish at my local harbor in B.C. of course with fish that my mother paid for, but because I was able to feed seal fish without anyone's help, I still vividly remember the experience. Children should be allowed to do something if they have had practice. Now that I'm older (14 years old), times in the family haze have changed and now safety is a big priority in my house. I've been surfing for years and there is a surf hub a short walk away from my house but no matter how small or big the waves are my mother now says wait for my father to get back or wake up. Kids who are old or have experience with an activity should be allowed and encouraged to do things on their own.
I feel like childhood is becoming very strict and contained and we aren't allowing our youth to learn and make mistakes on their own. In my childhood I was given the ability to make my own mistakes to grow because my parents believed that was the best way to learn. At first however I did see this as a struggle because it seemed like everything I did was wrong but now in my adolescence I know what mistakes not to make as well as I have matured a lot more and have became a lot more independent than I would have otherwise.
The article states that "It troubles me that children today are not given the same freedom," and I feel like this is so true because parents today are so scared of watching their kids making mistakes that they want to guide them through everything they can in life when that might not be the best way to allow the kid to grow. As well as "Without a telephone or a television, I spent a lot of time drawing and writing stories," which is something that children are lacking today because everything is so instant and they aren't given the ability to be creative.
Overall most children's creativeness and freedom have been lacking as we get to the more modern times and this can be very detrimental to the growth and development of these children, however there's nothing that anyone else can do because we aren't the parents of these kids.
I feel like childhood is becoming very strict and contained and we aren't allowing our youth to learn and make mistakes on their own. In my childhood I was given the ability to make my own mistakes to grow because my parents believed that was the best way to learn. At first however I did see this as a struggle because it seemed like everything I did was wrong but now in my adolescence I know what mistakes not to make as well as I have matured a lot more and have became a lot more independent than I would have otherwise.
The article states that "It troubles me that children today are not given the same freedom," and I feel like this is so true because parents today are so scared of watching their kids making mistakes that they want to guide them through everything they can in life when that might not be the best way to allow the kid to grow. As well as "Without a telephone or a television, I spent a lot of time drawing and writing stories," which is something that children are lacking today because everything is so instant and they aren't given the ability to be creative.
Overall most children's creativeness and freedom have been lacking as we get to the more modern times and this can be very detrimental to the growth and development of these children, however there's nothing that anyone else can do because we aren't the parents of these kids.
I believe that this is a tricky question because depending on the parent, they'll oversupervise/undersupervise their children. For example, I have friends that don't leave thier houses because their parents feel like it's necessary to know their every move. In that case I think it's more of a safety or trust issue, not a supervision issue.
@Gillian I completely agree that parents will monitor their kids every move and that can be very hard to grow up with. I love how you mentioned under supervising as well and not just over supervising because with some parents the child just has to raise themselves and don't have any sort of guidance on right and wrong.
I feel as if Over-supervision is in the eye of the beholder. I say this because every parent's teaching method is different from one another. Some may be overprotective while others are laxer and want their children to learn from their mistakes.
People only have one life and parents shouldn't stop them from living it. Some parents shelter their kids, and they shouldn't do this due to them needing to experience life.
Jake Glynn said "With the growing concern of safety and greater access to technological devices, parents are becoming more and more protective over their children than ever before." That reminds me of how I was never able to go outside my house by myself and I was always told that going out by yourself is dangerous so I've always been scared by going outside alone.
In today’s world, there are only polar opposites on this issue. While some parents give children all the freedom in the world, others keep an iron grip on the kids social freedom. In my life, I’ve always been very over-supervised, in awe of my friends whose parents would let them out of the house after 10, or drink 2 sodas in a night without a special occasion. The fact that we have technology tightens this iron grip even tighter, from Find my IPhone, to life 360 and everything in between makes kids not make decisions on their own. I think as a kid, making mistakes is part of growing up, and if parents hold your hand across the street your whole life, you can never mature and learn that you shouldn’t be out late the night before a game or eat fast food 5 times a week. I have never experienced what lots of freedom looks like, so I cannot speak for that side, but from what I have experienced, it must be a lot better than having overly-strict parents.
With the growing concern of safety and greater access to technological devices, parents are becoming more and more protective over their children than ever before. As a kid growing up, I remember being given freedoms on where I go and what to do as long as I got permission to do so. Whether is was going to a friends house or building a fort in the woods, there weren’t a lot of restrictions on what I was able to do. Now, going into my junior year, I feel like my parents are even more protective over me than when I was a kid. With applications such as Life360 being available to the public for free, I believe parents abusing these sources. Yes, Life360’s purpose was to ensure safety of everyone, but now parents are using it as a permanent tracker on everything you do. I have come home to my mom asking why I was at every place I went to that night and I believe this is excessive. Giving children and adolescents some freedoms will prepare them for life by allowing them to discover self-discipline and certain situations to avoid. Parents manufacturing a kids lifestyle will in the long run, prove harmful as it will give all discipline into the parents hands and not with the child.
I think it depends. There are families who watch their child's every move like their life depends on it, and there are families who wouldn't know if their child left the house for 2 hours. It seems that parents are more protective of their children as companies advertise baby gates and child cameras and other devices.
My childhood was free. My mother pushed us to go outside and scooter and climb trees and fall out of them. She would say things like, "go play with those kids in the lake!" or "you can climb onto the roof!". Her childhood was a lot less supervised than mine, and I think that influenced her own child rearing methods. I prefer freedom, because I got to experience life and make decisions.
Once I was walking my dog and there was a slippery slope to a river below, and a fence separating the pathway from the slope. There was a ledge also separating the slope and pathway, and my dog jumped on top of the ledge. I thought she would jump back onto the path, but instead she jumped off onto the slope. I freaked out and tried to use her leash to haul her back up, but instead she started slipping out of her collar. In the end, I had to kneel down and scoop up my dog before she tumbled away with out falling myself. My knees got scratched from kneeling on the gravel and I was dusty and shaken. When I went back to my parents, no one said anything.
Freedom allows children to take risks and become wiser while they still can. I wish children could be freer.
Due to the increase of electronic devices and overprotective parents, I believe that childhood today is overly supervised and protected. As a high school student, looking back my childhood was relatively free, as I was often able to walk to a park or explore a forest with my neighborhood friends. However looking at the typical childhood now, it seems that many children are often inside all day, consumed with their video games or tv shows. I feel it's rather unfortunate that children these days are not experiencing the same childhood joys or adventures that I did when I was younger as I truly valued my unsupervised play time. I remember having strict limits on how much screen time I could have and as a result, much of my childhood was spent outside in the outdoors. One of my favorite childhood memories was when my friend and I went to a pond and fed the ducks pieces of bread, but we saw an alligator in the pond and freaked out and ran home, only to find out that we’ve been locked out of our house.
In today’s society, I would describe many parents has helicopter parents. They are the parents that stand over their children, attempting to protect them from anything bad that may happen to them, and they pride themselves on this. But this type of supervision is limiting, not only does allowing a child to explore on their own give them the chance to discover new things, but it gives them a chance to make memories that will leave a lasting imprint on a child’s life. As a child I personally haven’t had really supervising parents, and in a way, I think that took some opportunities from me, but it has also opened some opportunities for me. As I am watching other teens now, I see their parents who still have this strong hold on them, and it helps them with many things like grades, but it is limiting them form making the very needed memories they need to make as teens. Sometimes you just must learn from mistakes. I for one wish that grades are something my parents would have been a little tougher on. Although I had an older brother and my parents were super over cautious with him and this caused him to come out as rebellious, because the need to break free from their reigns was something so tempting.
In today’s society, parents pride themselves on keeping their kids safe and being able to watch their child’s every move. But this type of supervision limits a person’s childhood experience drastically. Not only does allowing a child to explore on their own give them a chance to discover new things, but it gives them a chance to make memories that will leave a lasting imprint in a child’s life. My childhood was almost entirely lacking adult supervision, both my parents worked constantly and I was practically raised by my siblings. One of my most distinct memories of when I was little was when I asked to hang out with friends and my father’s only comment was, “as long as I see you by tomorrow afternoon.” Of course, I was only gone for a few hours, but knowing my father trusted me enough to allow me to be on my own for that long gave me a confidence boost. I feel that today’s parents don’t understand what being overbearing will do to their children. The stories Cressida Cowell was told as a child mixed with the freedom she was given lead to her becoming a successful author and illustrator, that would have never happened if her every move was watched and she was kept away from experiencing the real world. Yes, not being watched constantly can lead to injury or mistakes but a child needs those things to learn, they allow for growth. Parents need to understand that children have the ability to make their own choices and need to be allowed to follow through with those choices.
In my opinion, I believe that children tend to be much more supervised now then in the past. There are some parents who hover over their child every step of the way, there are those who allow their children to be “free”, and then there are parents who are in the middle. I believe that parents are very protective of their children today more than ever, because of our society. There will always be danger in the world, and due to new inventions parents will supervise their children for their safety.
I feel that my childhood was supervised but not to an extent where an adult was constantly hovering over me. My parents have always and still do trust me to make the best decisions, however, I wasn’t able to do everything alone. And to be honest I understand why, it is because of the world we live in. My parents respected my privacy and trusted that I would be smart and cautious. I believe that my parents understood where to draw the line between invading my privacy and being protective. Due to the changes in our society parents need to supervise children more now than ever, but we need to ensure to maintain the balance between the safety and invasion of children's lives.
In my opinion I think every children thinks that their parents are too overprotective but when we grow up we realize they weren't. However, there are some very overprotective parents out there but many parents are like this with their first born or are suffering from a fear of losing a child, which is understandable. However, they shouldn't let this fear stop their kids from discovering the world on their own. Letting them explore doesn't necessarily mean abandon them in the woods for a few hours, but when going places, don't be a "helicopter" and just keep an eye out from a distance. I do agree that children are more supervised but at the same time considering the conditions of today's world it is understandable but that doesn't mean it should limit their time outside.
I do agree that children now-a-days are much more supervised. There are definitely more helicopter parents than there used to be. But it is not because of the parents, it is because of the world we live in today.
My childhood was very free if we're talking adventure. I loved nature and animals and so did my family. However, I wasn't able to do this alone, and to be honest, if I had the choice to, I still wouldn't.
I definitely did not have the childhood that Cowell did. Her parents in my opinion, were way to loose on her. My parents would not allow me to drive around into places that they did not know. But I would still much more prefer my childhood more than hers. My parents let me have fun while staying safe... all her parents worried about was her not dying pretty much.
My craziest memory was actually not including my parents at all (And I'm not even sure if they know). I was five when my school took me to the Smithsonian space museum. My friends and I saw an exhibit that we liked and wandered off. Me and my other two friends, spent about twenty minutes alone before we realized they had left. We then spent another ten looking for them. Luckily we found a teacher from my school.
I have read "How to Train Your Dragon" I love that series because even though it is a mystical world, it's so relate able.
If I have children, I'll teach them how to scene good from bad. They will know what is dangerous and what isn't. I would then help them decided.
‘Winning at the starting line,’ is the motto today’s parents live by. In our region, toddlers are sent to preschool to learn a second language. Primary schoolers have a packed after school curriculum; achieving grade 8 in piano is almost compulsory for enrolling in prestigious secondary schools. I believe this parenting style is harmful to children as playing and exploring are vital for children. Why does this parenting style exist in the first place? Parents want their children to ‘learn’ as much as they can; or to better prepare them for interviews and exams. Playing becomes a waste of time, the idiom says.
Scientifically, during childhood, the brain reacts to novel stimuli the strongest and consequently, develops most rapidly. Playing can satisfy children’s curiosity; while exploring provides a lot of surprises (novel stimuli). In another word, playing and exploring encourage the growth of the brain and lay a foundation for future learning.
Academically, these experiences turn knowledge in books into ‘common sense’. Physics explains how the universe works, your own experience is the sole backup. Running on rough fields then skating on ice, you will understand friction and consequently, law of motion. This applies to science, how about literature, which is written in books? To create, you need raw materials, which are experiences, Cressida Cowell is a great example.
I think that children are always going to think that their parents are overprotective at some point. Unfortunately due to what is going on in the world today, it isn't overprotective, it is what they have to do to keep them alive.
I think that our childhood today is quite over supervise, and protected. I know the fact that we have more access to more technology, but we don’t really have control of our life. Making choices like can I hang out with my friends,? Can I do this? Or will my parents be mad at me if I do this?. We always have to go through our parents before making those decisions. In my childhood, I wasn’t able to explore a lot of nature, because my parents never let me went to most of the adventurous school trips. The wildest story I’ve ever done in my childhood is that last year I have climbed to the top of the mountain with my cousins and aunt. I think to have unsupervised childhood brings you a lot of benefits because we can be as creative and adventurous as we want. But having too much freedom we can have less responsibility for our life like studying because most of the time we will be outside and having fun.
In my opinion, childhood nowadays is being over supervised and protected because parents are monitoring every single movement. This makes us kids, uncomfortable, and loses interest in going outside. During my childhood, I was being watched every single time I went out. As I grew up, I didn't like the fact that I had to be watched by someone every time I leave the house. As a result, I spend more time indoors and outdoors, staying in my room and play with my laptop. Since my parents didn't allow me to climb, run, or anything that could hurt myself. So I asked myself, "What can I do?" From there on, I didn't want to go out like to play anymore because I felt bored whenever I go outside, and I would rather stay at home and watch Netflix. So, based on my own experience, I would say that childhood these days is being over supervised.
As an early 2000s baby, my childhood was different than the kids growing up now. I remember my parents putting up Christmas decorations outside, and I took it upon my five-year-old self to go across the street to my friends house without my parents knowledge. They obviously saw me toddling across the street, but they knew where I was going. I remember being free to roam my grandma's neighborhood with my cousin; we would follow a small creek all the way into Hurricane Lakes where my aunt lived. Looking at kids today, the experience of childhood is vastly different from mine, but I don't think it's because of over-supervision. Today, five-year-olds have brand new iPhones and iPads and rarely go outside. This advancement in technology is what has drastically changed how childhood looks. I didn't have a tablet I could look at 24/7; I had to find something to do with my free time. And that turned into exploration outside: playing in the sprinklers, making a slip-n-slide on the trampoline, walking a mile down a random creek just to see where it let out.
It's not that today's children are over-supervised. In a way, they're under-supervised: they're given a phone or tablet to babysit them, and that's the end of it. Four out of five times when I see a child in public, they have their face in a screen, with no sense of what's going on around them. They've never had the chance to splash in that creek or chalk in their driveway. Technology is now the new outlet for childhood.
I think that the reason that a lot of children are not allowed to go out in public with friends is because of how much attention sex predators got in the media, every time I want to go somewhere I have to tell my parents exactly where I'm going. It is very normal now and of the people I know to not let kids go out in public in a group of other kids or even go more than a block away from home.
In my opinion, childhood today is overly supervised because parents seem to have an overprotective side to them. Parents should be able to understand their kids' social lives and understand their connection with their friends, the freedom to express their opinion, the freedom to explore different places and their experience of childhood. I think kids should live as kids because very soon they'll enter adulthood and have to deal with bigger problems in the future. In my experience, my parents like to take my phone without my permission and notifying me which makes me uncomfortable and invades my privacy a lot. In my childhood I was very free to explore new places and things by myself which taught me to become more independent and makes me challenge myself more. However, as I grew older my parents became more protective and not allowing me to hangout with my friends that much anymore. When our family is going on vacation, my parents usually let me go to the beach, gift shops, ice cream shop and many other places with my cousins and siblings. In my opinion the freedom of the author is what I wanted to have. Some of the benefits of unsupervised play in nature is that we can experience more things, learn about our mistakes and become more independent. With the limited amount of freedom, this makes the kids grow up to be timid and afraid to try new things.
There are several meanings for the word free in my childhood. Freedom could be free to stay up late, having friends over, freed to play video games, or free to go outside the house.
All of these factors play a part in determining how freedom I am and living with strict parents I learned that freedom is a whole different word for them. I would have to earn my freedom for things. My childhood is always under surveilance even something as simple as coming to a friend house, my parents would interrogate me, what time will you be home?, have you completed all your work?, what are you going to do there? I often trade chorse for such "freedom". However, as I grow older, more freedom are certainly granted, I feel now as free as ever. I think they now trusted in me giving me freedom because they believe that I can be resonable and make mature choices.
There are several meanings for the word free in my childhood. Freedom could be free to stay up late, having friends over, freed to play video games, or free to go outside the house.
All of these factors play a part in determining how freedom I am and living with strict parents I learned that freedom is a whole different word for them. I would have to earn my freedom for things. My childhood is always under surveilance even something as simple as coming to a friend house, my parents would interrogate me, what time will you be home?, have you completed all your work?, what are you going to do there? I often trade chorse for such "freedom". However, as I grow older, more freedom are certainly granted, I feel now as free as ever. I think they now trusted in me giving me freedom because they believe that I can be resonable and make mature choices.
In my opinion, children these days are overly supervised and protected. They should be allowed to go play whenever and whatever they want. I don’t have a free childhood, I am a typical example of this because my parents are extremely protective. I don’t think any parent can be as overprotective as mine. During weekends, all of my friends get to hang out at their houses or go to eat together as a group to eat but I am not allowed because they said that It’s very dangerous outside, and because of that reason, I have been stuck home for my whole life. Many time I tried to convinced them that It’s fine for me to go out because all of my friends can and their parents are fine with it, that we’re not kids anymore that we can choose what we want to do and take responsibility for our lives and not being controlled by our parents. Some of my words go into their head, they let me go out once or twice a week but every time I go there’s someone following me to make sure I’m okay but that’s very creepy for my friends because none of them have someone following you like that. Despite I can’t go out, sometimes my friends come to my house to hang with me there to make me feel better.
Yes, I believe that people’s childhood are over-supervised. When I was young, I was barely able to go out of my house unless someone that my parents trusted or my parents themselves are with me. In my opinion, childhood today is over-supervised because my parents have told stories that involve things that people wouldn’t really do today like climbing trees and jumping into rivers at a very young age. Back in the day, most parent’s childhood was very free and adventurous, but now kids are mostly kept indoors and they are only allowed to go out somewhere near the neighbourhood. I think that parents in the future should let kids be free and let them go by themselves at around 10-11 years old without supervision. For me, it's essential for kids to develop some independence. At the same time, I do believe that there should be a little supervision. I think that most kids should let their parents know where they are going. Then parents should maybe allow them to be alone in the house without any adults so that they can develop skills much quicker and easier. Basically, set the basic rules for kids to follow like don’t talk to strangers on the streets, don’t start fights, say sorry when you did something wrong etc. and you should allow kids to enjoy their childhood being independent with confidence.
Yes, I believe that people’s childhood are over-supervised. When I was young, I was barely able to go out of my house unless someone that my parents trusted or my parents themselves are with me. In my opinion, childhood today is over-supervised because my parents have told stories that involve things that people wouldn’t really do today like climbing trees and jumping into rivers at a very young age. Back in the day, most parent’s childhood was very free and adventurous, but now kids are mostly kept indoors and they are only allowed to go out somewhere near the neighbourhood. I think that parents in the future should let kids be free and let them go by themselves at around 10-11 years old without supervision. For me, it's essential for kids to develop some independence. At the same time, I do believe that there should be a little supervision. I think that most kids should let their parents know where they are going. Then parents should maybe allow them to be alone in the house without any adults so that they can develop skills much quicker and easier. Basically, set the basic rules for kids to follow like don’t talk to strangers on the streets, don’t start fights, say sorry when you did something wrong etc. and you should allow kids to enjoy their childhood being independent with confidence.
I think children are actually really over-supervised. At least my childhood was very supervised. I didn’t have a “glorious childhood” like in the movies but it’s ok because I had siblings to play with and cousins who lived in the same neighbourhood. But now even in the 7th grade my parents still won’t let me ride my bike or walk to school alone. It’s only 5 minutes from my house to school. Everywhere I went there was someone following me like my parents, brother, cousin, or maid. I couldn’t just go outside and explore. The more my parents held me back the more I was eager to go outside. I thought that these supervision was stupid and unessecary back then. As I look back I think it was very necessary because I was an extremely clumsy kid. I was also a very naughty and rebellious kid and my parents knew it. My mom was especially protective of me because I got “lost” a few times. Even now that I’m 14 years old someone still sometimes supervised me even though it's not necessary now. Now my mom just calls me every hour I'm not at home.
As a kid, my parents didn't let me go to my friend's house. They only let me go around my neighborhood. I wasn't able to go to my friend's house because they thought it was dangerous and they wanted me to keep studying. Nowadays they would only let me go if I'm doing an assignment with my friends. After school on Friday, I would sometimes be able to go to my friend's house but most of the time I would have to play an online game with them. I believed that children should have some freedom when they're above 10 years old. If you're unsupervised, it's easier to make friends, meet new people and bond with your friends. It would be awkward if your mom was watching you playing bowling with your friends. Sometimes freedom isn't good, parents are there to help you and when you're lost you're lost, they would come and find you.
The feeling of not earning trust from my parents leading to their denial in allowing me to do something has always been one that bugs me. I question, “Why? Am I just not mature enough to know what is right or wrong?” The relation I have with this prompt which is reflected by the author’s description of over supervision is a situation I myself deal with in my everyday life, therefore, this prompt is one that I have a strong connection to. Growing up, my mom, being a woman who encourages self-exploration, trial & error, and experiments, while my grandparents both have a nature of keeping me safe 24/7 and furthermore reassures that I stay out of trying new things that potentially could harm or injure me. My parents are aware and so supportive of me chasing after my goals and dreams, comprehending the fact that I could slip several times along the way before succeeding at something. Yet, to my grandparents, it would be a "no" if that troubles me. I understand that these denies come from a place of deep love and care, believing that this is the way of keeping me safe now, but can the prevention of me from trying new things and the practice of hiding away, restricting encounters with obstacles, keep me safe later when I have to eventually walk my own path in life? Reality check, the answer is “No”. The whole being over supervised thing is somewhat understandable. However, being over-supervised takes away a self-exploration opportunity where we can learn from our experiences.
I think childhood today IS over-supervised. Young kids simply don’t get to experience half as much as the previous generations.
For example, my mother will tell us stories about her adventurous and interesting childhood. Hers consisted of climbing trees, fishing, swimming and diving in the river in her old town. She told us the many adventures she had as a kid and how much fun it used to be. She would swim out to the middle of the river with her siblings where they would have a diving contest and pranked each other. They would hunt for bait for fishing and they would be so excited when they caught a big fish.
My childhood, however, is polar different from hers. My brother and I are prohibited from doing more than half as much as what she did. Adventures and activities like that were deemed too risky and dangerous so we stayed home more. As a result, we spent more time in front of a screen gaming or watching videos to the point where we lost touch with nature.
I feel like kids nowadays are so protected from “nature” that we no longer know how to have fun with it and we no longer have such terrifying but exciting stories and adventures to tell anymore.
February 28 2020
My childhood is pretty free. Yes, I do have rules that I have to follow, but they are basic rules that almost everyone has. Those rules are set because she wants me to be safe, not safe as in like ‘oh don’t do this, you might fall and scratch yourself,” but safe as in not going in the wrong direction in life and not falling into bad influence. I think those rules are reasonable and I respect them. My mom is pretty easy with things and she lets me be independent. She encourages me to explore nature instead of staring at a screen for hours a day. I learned to cherish nature and have fun with it for as long as possible because I fear that one day global warming might take away nature. I think that it is very important for parents to encourage their kids to go explore and have fun with nature because “fun” is not always staring at your phone.
Personally I don’t think Childhood is over supervised because when I was young I had some control over my life. Since I wasn’t overly supervised I had some freedom and like I could learn new things. I had many crazy moments in my childhood like in one incident, I was around 10-11 there was something in my right wrist and it kept getting bigger and bigger and I just didn’t care and just left it. For a while it didn’t really hurt and I didn’t put any thought about it. The only time I put some thought about it was when it started getting bigger and I started to get worried because I didn’t what was happening. So I went to a doctor and he said I had to get surgery to remove it. I was very scared and nervous. I feel like when children lose their freedom they can’t do a lot. Maybe some problems when kids have to much freedom is not knowing what to do when they don’t have a lot of freedom because they have never experience having too less freedom. I can’t say much but in the future when I have kids I’m not going to give my kids too much freedom to do whatever they wan’t but I won’t be too strict on the,.
Children now are very supervised, parents use trackers and apps to “keep an eye” one their children constantly. Many teens feel very pressured by parents, very monitored and imprisoned by parents. When children and teens get to do what they want, they form better trust with the people around them, especially with parents and guardians. They also learn to make better decisions including the people around them and what they do. I can relate to this because of being allowed freedom in my old town. Some of the best memories of my childhood were unsupervised play in the woods with a huge gang of children. I could learn many different skills and be able to just play around with friends or meet new people. We would be at a supervised park and then our parents would let us do whatever we wanted to do in the woods and then go home alone or with friends later in the day. Because of this, my childhood was memorable and fun and I also learned many things that I would not if my parents were overprotective. I have formed a good relationship with my parents with them letting me do what I need to do and being more hands-off and I think this is key in having your children trust you and develop more in their youth.
In my opinion, my childhood is overly supervised and protected, things I can do is really limited. For example, usually, I’m not allowed to go outside or do anything by myself. Instead, they have to follow me to where ever I go just to keep their eye on me. Because of that, what I can do is limited making my childhood really boring. I’m not allowed to do a lot of things just because they think it’s too dangerous for me. Therefore, I do almost the exact same thing every day. I wake up eat breakfast, get ready for school and eat lunch then learn and dinner. After dinner, I’m allowed to go outside but only either go to the gym or play basketball. In the end, I shower and sleep. This thing repeats every single day which I don’t like at all but I can’t do anything about it.
@Daniel
No one's childhood should have to be that limited. Nowadays it really depends on what age you're at. The younger you are, the more overprotective your parents are gonna be over you. Due to the dangers of even just walking out of your house because of kidnappers and things like that, parents are more likely to have the fear that something bad could happen.
Honestly, I think that childhood these days isn’t supervised enough. Some parents just let their children do anything they want on a phone, tablet or laptop. Children should be able to know the difference between two trees is, they should know what mud feels like against their feet. Kids should go play outside, have fun. They might hurt themselves once and a while, but that’s how kids learn. In some scientific experiment, they said that if you compared a five-year-olds brain that goes outside and experiences things to a 5-year-olds brain who just knows a tablet as a form of entertainment, the child that goes out has something like 20% more brain growth then the other kid. I have matching scars on each of my knees. One happened on my sixth birthday and the other one didn’t know I even had it until a few years ago. But that’s what being a kid is all about, living a little. In one of the articles, one writer said that “Today, children have much less unsupervised access to the countryside.” He also agrees that kids these days have too little supervision in certain aspects of life.
As someone who grew up in modern times, I would more likely to say that childhood today is not over-supervised. Nowadays’ supervision is more effective than before, which means limits might be more, such as we are not allowed to swim in the river, climb the trees, etc. But this isn’t over supervising, it is just enough for us. Some parents may over supervise their children, but that is just a few, most of the parents don’t limit children that much. To be fair, exploring nature without an adult is fun but also dangerous, I wouldn’t take a risk that might hurt myself just to have fun. That is probably why I haven’t done anything too wild without parent supervising. Even though you get to learn about nature when you’re unsupervised, you may also learn why supervision is important after you have been hurt. One of my friend has broken his leg once he fell when he was trying to climb a tree. Overall, in my opinion, supervision today isn’t over, but just ok.
Cressida Cowell, in her opinion essay “I Had a Gloriously Wild Childhood. That’s Why I Wrote ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’” asserts that her success is largely a result of an unsupervised childhood. Although children definitely need more parental protection today considering the dangers that come with social media and the internet, many children are over-supervised, resulting in entitled, underprepared young adults that can’t function in the real world. According to Alicia Bradley, a licensed clinical professional counselor, “The overprotected child will likely not learn the skills needed to form their own identity and learn how to solve problems independently.” Overprotected children are the result of overprotective parents, or helicopter parents. These figures might enroll their child in extracurriculars he or she doesn’t enjoy, make every decision for their child, or place extra attention on their child that fosters entitlement. If children aren’t given the opportunity to make their own choices and do things independently, they will never learn from their mistakes. Once overprotected kids make it to college, many do not know how to make decisions for themselves and survive without parental guidance. Parents need to realize that in their attempts to constantly protect their children, they are actually stifling their chances at success through over-supervision.
Personally, I think that children today are being way over supervised. This can vary from many reasons like fear for the child, or overprotective parents. However, I know that childrens are not getting the freedom they want because I have been through this exact situation. It was in the midst of January during the weekends when my friends called me up to have a sleepover. The first word that came out of my mouth was YES, considering I need time off homework. Now I knew that today was going to be a good day, until I remembered from the top of my head the one person I forgot to ask, my mom. I panicked and feared that she would say no, until it reached 4 pm. By this time, I have built up all the confidence I needed to talk my mom through it but, I didn’t think it would go the way I wanted it to go. Not one second after I kindly asked her if I could have a sleepover at my friend’s, she would start to give me her favorite excuses. Excuses like, No Smoking or No Drinking, and I'm just there thinking to myself, “what have I done to go through all of this.” After a long session of NO SMOKING, I finally get to go and have dinner with my friends.
How free was my childhood? I’m not really sure as I am still 14 and my childhood is not over yet, but I have to say on some occasions they don’t allow me to go due to the fact that they think that the beetle is too scary, the trees are too high, there is too much mud, etc.
I personally think that children should only be supervised unless it is in a dangerous situation or in a situation where a child cannot control themselves from doing something stupid. My parents can sometimes be overprotective. My mom is the parent whose overprotective and my Dad is the exact opposite. He thinks we should do whatever we want that is fun other than the fact that we must eat vegetables. If I played with nature a lot when I was young, right now I probably wouldn’t be writing this and would be taking a stroll in the park. What we do at a young age forms our future life and our future interests. So if someone sits at a screen all day when they are young. The screen will become more addictive as they grow older and older because then the format of their brain changes. It’s the same with spending most of your time out in nature. We should only supervise children unless it is absolutely necessary.
Growing up, I was never really heavily supervised and was allowed to explore a lot more than nowadays. I have been able to gain a lot of independence since I am in high school and my mom doesn't constantly have to watch over me. However, with today's generation, I feel like parent's are more paranoid, especially when they hear bad stuff happen on the news. Of course, it is natural to be overprotective of your child, (because my mom still limits me on certain things and I have to ask her for permission) but, I feel like children need room to grow and learn on their own. This doesn't mean to completely stop what you're doing and leave them alone, but I think parent's should allow their kids to make their own decisions at a certain age and learn from their experiences, so it can benefit them and make them more mature in the long run. Besides, childhood is all about having fun and learning new things, not being restricted or constantly watched over by your parents every step.
When I compare myself to children I see at the park I wonder what divides us. As a young kid I normally roamed free I wouldn’t say I was supervised that much. The kid I observe is being followed by his grandmother every step he makes so does she. I grew up in a suburban township with a large population at the time. I now live in a big city with more than 30 million people. I would just endlessly ride my bike all day if I could. If he went too far his grandmother would shout his name and he would have stopped. I’ve grown fond of nature and the luxury of freely riding bikes now or then. When I turned five I moved to a city and left the suburbs. When I moved I noticed how my parents always hover over me. Cities are bigger and have more people so supervision isn’t bad. I see the difference between. Other then the fact cities have more crime rates, child trafficking, and mugging. The way people act has changed. Topics like those have been more publicly shared. People would probably have more caution after hearing millions of stories of children getting stolen off the streets. I liked my childhood, I wouldn’t change it for a second. Not being over-supervised is something I should thank my parents for doing something right when raising me.
Yes, I think children nowadays are being over supervised. Kids before having technologies they didn’t have anything to do at home and will get bored, so they want to go outside and play. Nowadays we just sit at home being on our technologies becoming geeks, staying at home being supervised by your parents instead of playing with your friends outside under no supervision. Plus, technologies like smartwatches have GPS in them, so even if children today go out, their parents can still track their locations. Another reason is unlike the past we now have security cameras, and in most houses parents want to install a few. That way parents can supervise their children and house whenever they want, wherever they are, 24/7. So technologies are the main reason why children are being overly supervised today.
Overall, I think that children are getting more supervised today compared to earlier periods in time. Of course, the amount of supervision varies wildly, but on average, children are being supervised more. This can be due to many reasons, like greater fears or simply thinking the child is incapable of being responsible. My mother fits well into this category. She watches over my activities really closely and places overly restrictive rules on me. Every time I go outside for social activities, I have to ask her for permission. That is unnecessary and unfair. She doesn’t grant me enough social freedoms and that can be extremely detrimental to my social competence and interaction skills. Her restrictions make me worried about going outside because she might not allow me to. She doesn’t even allow me to bring my own Macbook into my room. This is just going too far. I own it, so I should be able to do whatever I want with it. Oversupervisation can lead to many side-effects to a child, like social ineptitude or resentment. No child should go through something like this and needs freedoms in order to properly develop. Criminals have always existed and of course, that could be seen as a reason to protect your child in case a tragic accident happens. However, violent crime rates are at an all time low, and even if something bad would happen, it is really worth risking a part of your child’s future?
Growing up I didn’t have overly protective parents or anything. They supervised me growing up of course to ensure my safety. At around 5th grade my parents let me become more independent. Such as going on a taxi alone to further places, going places without supervision. Even in kindergarten, my mom worked pretty far so I had to go to school on my own while a lot of people had their parents. In 6th grade my parents let me go to Korea alone for a month to stay with my family there. I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time and when I arrived my family was confused because apparently you need a flight attendant to accompany you but I didn’t have one. I wasn’t scared of going alone though, it’s pretty easy getting around the airport since I’ve been going to Korea every year, I know where all the gates were. Now I’m 14 and I might go halfway across the world without my family but with a friend.
Growing up I didn’t have overly protective parents or anything. They supervised me growing up of course to ensure my safety. At around 5th grade my parents let me become more independent. Such as going on a taxi alone to further places, going places without supervision. Even in kindergarten, my mom worked pretty far so I had to go to school on my own while a lot of people had their parents. In 6th grade my parents let me go to Korea alone for a month to stay with my family there. I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time and when I arrived my family was confused because apparently you need a flight attendant to accompany you but I didn’t have one. I wasn’t scared of going alone though, it’s pretty easy getting around the airport since I’ve been going to Korea every year, I know where all the gates were. Now I’m 14 and I might go halfway across the world without my family but with a friend.
I feel like childhood today is very supervised. This is because I feel like the parents these days sense more danger around there kids. This makes them uncomfortable. Therefore childhood these days are over supervised and protected. For me, I did have the opportunity to explore nature. When I was a child. I would do so much with my cousin. We would build treehouse, mud cakes and then go explore. We would go into the forest behind our house and camp. We would find so many animals like wild pigs, squirrels, and parents. Some of the dumbest things that we have done as a kid threw rock war at each other. By the end of the day, two of us were at the hospital and the other two had minor injuries. I feel like, without parental supervision, you wouldn’t find and learn new ways of playing, new animals in the while. Yes, you would sometime gest hurt, but because you are getting hurt, you are also learning at the same time. This would benefit you in the future since you would know what’s gonna happen when you do this or that. Just with exploring you would find a totally differences world outside of your house. This makes a good way of learning since you would know more about your surroundings and more about nature/ outside world.
I agree that childhood today is over-supervised. For me, my childhood was over-supervised. I have just reached my first teenage year but I still remember what happened to me those days clearly. Throughout my childhood, my parents would not let me go to certain activities without trusted adult supervision. I couldn’t even go on ziplining or rock climbing ever in my life yet. My parents didn’t even let me go to my childhood friend’s house. In my old school, it seemed that my parents didn’t trust the school, so they wouldn’t let me go to Weeks Without Walls. They were just afraid that bad things would happen to me. They would be disappointed if anything bit me, even mosquitos. When I moved to Saigon South International School, the school forced my parents to let me go to Weeks Without Walls. I was excited. That was when they realized that they over-supervised me. They were willing to take me to visit my friends’ houses, but it was too late because now, I prefer to stay at home rather than to go out. I wished that my parents wouldn’t over-supervised me because then my mindset would grow. Now, they are teaching me how to live alone. They want me to leave Vietnam and study in the US, so they are getting me ready for that. They are getting me ready to live without my parents.
Children need room to grow and learn on their own. Overly protective parents create rebellious children. The need to go out with friends and create friends is prohibited by parents who feel they need to be on their child’s shoulders 24/7. Then children begin to rebel and get in trouble with the law. They wouldn’t get in trouble if the parent would let them have some freedom to have fun. Children today have mental issues because the lack of room to grow. Strict adults are sometimes mentally draining. Hearing “no” all the time gives kids the motivation to disobey. Being stuck in your house while your friends are out having fun is saddening. Children start to lose friends because they cannot go out or they miss out on so many things.
I am thankful for my parents who gave me a life in which I could explore around the world and exprience new culture and travel to new places where I have never been to before. However many kids around the world don’t get to exprience something interesting or special to them. It is because their parents are overprotectively keeping them from trying new things for the first time. With parents being overprotective kids will have a hard time socializing, creating independence and creativity which are huge skills that you learn throughout your life. Limiting your child from their everyday life means that they don’t take many risks. Risk is the learning exprience that you get from making a mistake which eventually will help you improve on what you are doing. At first, it is fine to be protective but later on their life, they lack the essential skills needed to live on their own.
I believe that childhood today is overly supervised and protected. One reason is that I am in my childhood right now and I feel that I can be over-supervised and protected. Another reason is that some of my friends have new and other experiences that I don’t have because my parents didn’t let me go out and do it with them.
My wildest story is my middle school dance, it ended around 8pm and I asked my parents if I could stay until 10 and hang around with my friends. They did say yes and that was the latest I have ever stayed out. When they said yes I was really shocked because I didn’t expect them too.
Having a childhood that isn’t over-supervised and really good because then you have new experiences and learn new things that you can’t do at home. With those new experiences you can use them in the future and it can also really help you with your education.
Having a limited childhood can affect you as a person because then you can’t learn what it’s like in the outside world and by the time you are off to university and you need to take care of yourself, you won’t know how to do anything.
On the other hand having too much freedom can lead to bad behavior and doing things you shouldn’t be doing. Yes, they will make mistakes but they can learn from it unlike the children that are over-supervised.
have never really felt that my parents are over-supervising or too intruding. This applies especially to outdoor and sporting activities. This is because my parents are usually more enthusiastic than me when it comes to doing exciting or (somewhat) dangerous things. I’ve had my fair share of incidents where it doesn’t matter if my parents are there or not. They encourage me to do things on my own, and they always give me pointers on how to do things. It really helps that both my parents have years of questionable adventures, especially my dad. He has done it all, from swimming down deep rivers to driving on 7 ft wide roads on the side of a mountain at midnight. This helps my dad give me very important tips and lessons that actually work, since he has used them many times, some of these tricks even saving his life. Most of my exciting experiences are with my parents, but every time something exciting happens, my parents are sure to tell me everything they know to help me, knowing I will need it in the future if I’m by myself.
I think that some children today are over-supervised but also some are too free. An extreme example of this would be my grandpa’s brother’s son. My grandpa has a brother. And that brother had a 15-year-old boy. One day, he was going out with his friends, and he went missing the next couple of hours. His family was very worried and scared. My grandpa’s brother called the police and they went searching for him. They thought it was the end, until they got a phone call from an unknown number. The person on the phone said that they have their son and that he has to pay lots of money to get him back. They were holding the young boy for ransom. The family couldn’t pay for it since we were very poor back then so the other end hung up. The boy was never found. My family theorized that he was taken to China for human trafficking and organs. That was a sad story but the even sadder thing is that all of it is true.
My whole life I heard it said that children should go outside and play. “Go outside, it’s too nice to be playing on the Wii inside”, is what my mom would sometimes say throughout our summer break. My neighbors and I loved going out to the backyard to play some random game we made up. That was our childhood. If you look at it now, the childhood of current children is a lot more different than ours. It’s now common for elementary school kids to have cell phones and tablets. Instead of running next door to play Wii with the kids next door, all kids now have to do is send them a quick text asking if they want to play iMessage games. Childhoods are constantly changing based on the new technology being introduced to younger and younger audiences. I personally believe, from personal experience, that my childhood was way better than the childhood children are experiencing today.
Headline: Overprotection or Just Keeping us Safe?
As of now, yes, children are generally overprotected. Back when I was 10 I would go out into our woods after school, and come home at sunset, almost every day. Parents now will not let them out of their sight. There are good reasons though, with phones, I think parents should have every right to go through them. The only thing is the phone tracking stuff is creepy, even if they don’t trust them, just ground them. When unsupervised, kids learn what is really going on, if they get hurt they will learn how to function and not just fall over dead. I can relate to her story by drawing. I like to draw and sometimes I prefer drawing over just looking at my phone. My wildest story as a kid is just growing up. It was a wonderful experience and phones never took away from that. There aren’t really any drawbacks except for right away. If you got hurt that is the drawback, but in the future you would be prepared for it to happen again.
In my personal opinion, I think that Childhood Supervision is overprotective, though I get to go out on weekends, I still have to go home at around 6 ‘o clock the latest, which sucks because many of my friends hang out until around 8 or 10 so sometimes I tend to miss out on some things.
One anecdote that makes me mad is that I won’t be able to bike to school ever since our move to a better but farther house from the school that I go to. Because of this, the only way to get to school is through the main road, which my dad says is “dangerous”.
Personally, I think if we were to have unsupervised childhoods, children would learn to be more adventurous, outgoing and responsible. There are problems though with a lot of freedom, things like children getting in trouble and doing things they’re not supposed to, but I think that is an inevitable risk that all parents will have to take.
In my opinion, children these days are over-supervised. They can’t do anything without their parents approving, and it can be very confining. Kids should be able to explore during their childhood, instead of having every little thing they do monitored. Some of the benefits from having less supervision are learning from mistakes, expressing more creativity, being able to be independent, and more. The best way anyone learns is by making mistakes, if a parent shelters their child, they can’t make mistakes. Giving your child lots of restrictions can limit their room for growth and creativity, influencing the way they do everything when they grow up. As a child, I was over-supervised, and now I have trouble with socialising and taking risks. Over-supervising a child can teach them to be fully dependent on their parents, where as if a parent gives their child some freedom, they can learn to do tasks by themselves.
In my opinion, sure children nowadays are over supervised but that's for safety reasons. The author has completely forgotten about the fact that criminals exist and all of them could be wandering around on the streets. Having to always go outside and experience the wilderness is an outdated thought. Let your kids out until you find out that they've been kidnapped and taken away forever. But parents shouldn’t get all the blame for their kids being indoors all the time. Technology is also a big part of this. If the kid really wants to explore the world outside of their room and is really passionate about it. Despite restrictions, they would probably find their own way to do it. Some people just like to stay home and do everything indoors. There are a lot of ways things can be learned, you don’t have to experience everything yourself. I think storytelling is one of those things, where when it's done correctly, it can be a really fun experience. It makes you feel like the story has actually happened to you. Don’t get me wrong, I think kids going outdoors is an amazing idea. I just don’t think it's that big of a deal. If they don't want to go outside, no one should force them to do so. Parents shouldn’t be the one taking the fall. In the end, it really just depends on the situation and how everyone feels.
Growing up in a pretty strict family, I do sometimes think that childhood today is over-supervised. It’s been pretty clear to me lately as I think of this problem. Not just my parents, I’m pretty sure all parents are afraid that their children might go onto the wrong websites and can be badly influenced by the contents of it. They fear that their child doesn’t know how to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong. For example, the child is trying to access a learning network but accidentally click on a video that involves crime. The parents are afraid that their child will act as the person in that video and would act naughty. Parents are afraid that they can’t oversee all of their child’s activities. Well, the truth is that it is very wrong to assume so. You don’t have to be afraid of whatever’s on the internet. You need to inform your child what to look out for, what to not access. It’s important for the child to be informed, for their awareness to rise, to know which websites are right to access and which aren’t. If you don’t tell them what they need to look out for, then they’ll never be able to know what to look out for and not to. Plus, there are tons of ways to block your child from entering a site, such as a firewall and blockers you can install at home. That’s how you prevent bad things from happening.
Growing up, I’ve always managed things by myself, I just always knew what to do. Throughout my life, I’ve never really been the one who takes advice from people. Being the “chill” one, my friends would come to me with their problems, but I wasn’t able to sympathize and couldn’t give any advice. I don’t want to sound snobby, but I think I have a great life, I just don’t have problems for some reason. Maybe I’m just a generally cold person, but I prefer not caring about all the drama and would rather live a carefree life. And having an overdramatic sister just made me not have any reactions towards things anymore, I don’t think that it’s a bad thing though. So I never really ask for advice from anyone other than the fact that I’d rant to my family about how my friends would come to me with their problems and me not being able to comfort or talk to them. But for other people with problems, I think that it is hard for normal teenagers to talk to their parents because they just don’t get it. Parents usually don’t get why their kids feel the way they feel, and they have different social lives. It’d be easier for friends of the same age who lives the same “social life” to understand each other more. This is just what I think, though.
yes because i cant cant go no where without getting questioned.
No because in this timeline the adults dont care as much what the kids do.The kids also dont care what the adults say so they are not that protected.
The way I was raised, and probably many more, it was always, “You need to be in this house before the streetlights come on.” At first I didn’t understand why, but as I got older and more educated, I started to realize why I couldn’t stay outside like “other children”. Someone is always shot, arrested, beat up, etc, and they’re never just one age group. There is a lot of that going on where I’m from, it’s not like back in the day where instead of pointing a gun at someone, you use your hands to settle some beef and go on about your business afterwards or go outside without fear of getting caught in the middle of a shoot out. Today, parents have the right to protect their child because it’s not the same world that they grew up in, there is a lot more going on to the point where it’s barely safe for children to go outside. Today, parents worry about their child every time they leave the house, wondering and fearing that they might not come home, especially their sons. So to be honest, no, childhood is not over supervised, better safe than sorry.
My childhood was over supervised, but I can understand why my parents did it. For example, their personal fears of losing their first childhood clouded their judgment. Would any other parent not do the same thing? Since I was their first child, I was spoiled with everything I ever wanted at the time. I was overprotected, so I was not allowed to go out without supervision. My parents worked most of the time, so I spent most of my childhood indoors. This really angered me now that I think about it because I strongly believe that as a kid, I have the right to explore the world.
I was also a boy so it increased my value/worth to my parents because of the belief that the family heir must be a boy. A great example would be what happened to my sister. She was not over supervised as I did. Thus, she grew up to be more daring and brave than me. It was easier for her to socialize and to make friends. She was a risk-taker while I was not. Although I may have not benefited, rather harmed from my parent’s over supervision, I understand that not every parent has enough courage to expose their child to the world yet because of the many dangers that follow.
I myself being a teenager I do believe that children need more freedom to have a full childhood. Attempting to let a child have fun with feeling someone watching someone over their shoulder isn't letting a child experience the full potential of what they could because they have need to censor themselves and become another version of themselves to satisfy their parents. In the process of trying to satisfy their parents needs the child loses the sense of who they are, who they could be when they are free to express their thoughts. Kids already have a lot of people watching and judging them while growing up through in this society. In modern times children have many great expectations placed on them which they are expected not only to achieve, but to surpass, and this is most definitely tiring. Kids should be able to have some moments to themselves where no one is watching and they can feel free.
As a teenager growing up I do believe that children do deserve more freedom. Having fun without feeling someone watching someone over your shoulder isn't letting a child letting their full potential out because they have need to censor themselves and create a new person of themselves to satisfy their parents. In the process of trying to satisfy their parents needs it's making the child lose in touch of who they were bound to be. Kids already have a lot of people watching and judging them while growing up through in this society. many expectations placed on them which could be tiring. Kids should have some moments to themselves where no one is watching and they could be themselves and feel free.
I believe that with today’s culture with social media and peer expectations that children are less supervised than they should be. I babysit on weekends and they seem very inclined to fit in with the “norm” on social media. They just are trying to grow up quicker and are much more aware to the world than I was when I was their age. So, in conclusion the supervision of children now is quite equal compared to the past generations but just in different ways.
One might argue that supervision of children today is dependent on the income of their parents or the neighborhood a family lives within. For example, parents with more demanding, time consuming jobs (present in both poor and wealthy families) might allow their child more freedom to take care of themselves; maybe the family lives in a dangerous neighborhood and doesn’t let their child go outside because they fear their child will be harmed, or maybe the family lives in a safer neighborhood and allows their child to play outside and travel around the area. Letting children explore the world on their own is definitely important in helping them establish responsibility and experience, yet the world has become such a dangerous and intimidating place that a child might become overwhelmed in or face potential harm.
Children today are over supervised. It is okay to be protective over your children and to make sure they are staying safe but, you don’t need to be a helicopter parent. Keeping children safe is a parents number one priority but it’s okay to let them have some space.
I do think kids lives today is over supervised, however when you look at how younger kids are on electronics with so many “dangerous” or inappropriate sites supervision is needed to an extent. Many kids have access to electronics either of their own or their parents. And with the internet itself being filled with so many different and interesting sites i feel that is is important to have supervision of these things.
The amount of supervision for each child greatly varies depending on their home life and family, and I believe that's appropriate. There are some teenagers who are responsible to do things like go to the mall with their friends, and there are some who aren't quite ready yet, and that remains the parents decision. If a child shows good behavior and the ability to make the right decisions they should be allowed more freedom, whereas kids who are the same age may prove to be untrustworthy and need a tighter leash. Behavior and maturity are large factors when it comes to these types of issues, though some parents should be watching their kids better, and some parents need to lighten up. I have known people who would jump at any opportunity to defy their parents, yet still, have free range. As for me, I have very little freedom and the last thing I would ever want to do is go against my parents. So in terms of supervision, the only real factors should be the child's level of responsibility and trustworthiness and how safe the situations and environments are.
1
@Julia Grandpre I agree with your claim that the amount of freedom each child receives depends on the level of maturity and responsibility the child has gained or received. For many adults today, the idea of allowing children to roam the world freely has become quite a big concern due to the outrageous changes society has gone through. Children nowadays are more exposed to inappropriate issues, such as violence, drugs, among others. Of course, parents are more fearful than ever and therefore impose more regulations and restrictions to create a safe environment for their children, to keep them away from any sort of evil trying to lure their kids to the dark side. I myself never had a free childhood due to these issue and my parents wanting to provide best environment for my siblings and I. However, this sense of liberty had to do with how much trust I was able to build up from my parents in order to be allowed to go out more. Therefore, children nowadays need to respect parents' decisions because many times, they know what's best since they've already gone through our age and therefore just wish to share their experiences with us.
Growing up, I was allowed a lot of freedom. We had a large yard and a quiet neighborhood. I had friends around the block and a forest preserve across the street. I spent all of my childhood roaming the area, playing games, climbing trees, jumping fences, building branch made shelters. I was mostly unsupervised. But that’s not the norm. My friends were generally kept inside. They were watching shows on an iPad with so many restrictions that they couldn’t even open up google. They could only be outside until 4 pm. They had to have their homework done by 7, and be asleep by 8. They didn’t have freedom. But in an era of technology, I understand how some of that was necessary. There is and always will be strange things on the internet, so some restrictions are necessary. But in the real world there’s weird or dangerous things as well. My parent would just say “don’t cross that street” or “don’t talk to strangers”. I was never forced into a routine. And I was happy. I am happy with how my childhood had been, but some kids aren’t. Some kids were made into zombies by their parents, who hoped to raise “the perfect kid,” but those restrictions did very little for them. They rebelled more often than not and the parents are disappointed. You have to allow your children to experience life. To try new things. To be themselves. To realize time management is important rather than be forced into it. Childhood is for learning, and some of that is life experiences too.
1
In my opinion, some children today are way too supervised. Many parents won’t let their kids explore by themselves or they track them everywhere they go. One of my friends wasn’t allowed in her front yard alone until she was in high school. When I was little, we use to go on a camping trip every year. I remember one time waking up in the middle of the night because of a huge storm. My tent was falling down on top of me so I hid in my sleeping bag and cried. Apparently I passes out because when I woke up I was laying in my dads car. I’m not quite sure what happened that night but I know I still loved camping and I’m so glad I got that experience in nature.
In my childhood I would not leave to play outside all day even though I wish it could have been. My parents described their childhood days as going out when the sun rose, came back for lunch, and stayed out until dusk. I wish those were still the times today. My parents always knew who’s neighborhood house I was at or who I was with. Majority of the time the neighborhood kids and I would play in my backyard so I would never go too far. I definitely think childhood playing has definitely changed because most kids now rather play inside with technology. When I babysit three younger boys in the summer they do go outside with their friends all over the neighborhood but they tend to come back home after an hour because they missed their xbox or what not. Outside childhoods have changed.
Reminiscing on my youthful elementary years, I was always the kid that would come home after a long day of being outside with grass stains on my shorts and tree sap all over my hands. The thrill of being outside where my adventurous neighbors and myself could run around my neighborhood is unmatched to any other. Exploring new areas and using our imaginations to create stories of either pirates or voyagers helped to shape me to have a creative and developed mindset, allowing me to think outside of the box.
I fear as if though children in the dawn of this technology era are not experiencing these moments of self-discoveries and adventure like myself and my peers have had. With tablets and cellphones at their fingertips, it is hard to pry them away from the addicting games developed to entice children to play more and more online. I hope the parents of these children realize the importance of allowing their children to have independence to explore nature and create new stories, which will ultimately allow our future generation to become more creative.
My childhood was defined by the lengths of my imagination rather than actual travels. I never felt tied down as a child, but I wasn’t free to run anywhere I pleased. Instead I tried to make every place I was in my playground.
My backyard acted as a different setting every time I stepped into it. These settings were usually influenced by movies, books, and interests. My childhood and my adventures in fairytales, wouldn’t have been as exciting without people creating stories like Cromwell’s How to Train Your Dragon. But my childhood wouldn’t be as free without the friends I had.
Childhood friends tend to mean, you were friends once, but it has since ended. A person will have more childhood friends, than they’ll have friends in their entire life. In my case I am lucky enough to have a best friend that started out as a childhood friend. She lived behind me and the one thing that connected us was our backyards.
Together without the consent of our parents my friend and I combined nature and imagination into our activities as kids, exploring it for ourselves. Capturing lizards and frogs, making potions, dissecting insects, and documenting big cats in our own savannah within our backyards.
I believe supervision is necessary for a child to remain safe, but not during a time of discovery. These little realizations and discoveries made at such a crucial age which will help define their character in the future.
As a child, I remember exploring the neighborhood and the woods and such with my friends and not having adults lurking behind the entire time. Because of this I believe it has made me a much more experienced person because I had the opportunity to do things without being filtered. In Cowell’s article she says “The adults had no idea what they were — which was very exciting to me, realizing that there were things in the world that not even the adults understood” explaining a place she visited, without the company of an adult. As a young child she experienced things even adults never are able to because while she was adventurous she was free and open to learn about the world as some get older they have no intent to learn these things, and never get to have the experience because they were guarded when they were charismatic enough. I believe as humans, we know how to keep ourselves out of danger so having an adult there to keep us from learning blocks paths to future valuable experiences.
i believe childhood isn’t over supervised. Where i live i see a lot kids playing outside by theirselves, they don’t be alone because there’s other kids around, but it’s still unsupervised. Think about it though, this is how a lot of children are getting kidnapped. It’s because their parents aren’t around when the situation happens.
I think one of the worst things someone can do for their kids is to be a helicopter parent. It just defeats the purpose of giving a child a regular happy childhood and instead, cripples their childhood and skips them right over into adulthood. I have friends whose parents wouldn’t let them have sleepovers or go to anyone's houses. What I've noticed is that these people are a lot less social than those whose parents pushed them to develop meaningful connections and interact in the outside world. Kids should be given a loose set of guidelines to follow and kicked out of the house into the world to experience true living for once. It’s dangerous for a child to be forced to stay inside with only their mind for company.
Cressida Cowell highlighted some great points in which having an adrenaline filled childhood leads to being more creative. She’s right. Cutting children's freedom also cuts their creativity. If a child is stuck indoors all day studying, they’ll start prioritizing grades over their happiness. I can also imagine these kids will try harder to please their parents in a time where personal well-being should come first.
Just look at all the great things that have come out of having a childhood like Cowell. She developed memories that led to her writing a bestselling book series, had a close relationship with her Dad, and learned to live without technology. I would rather pull off some risks like her than have my childhood crippled by the decisions of my parents.
@Simone Cronier I agree to an extent, children should receive an amount of freedom which allows them to create and expound their social skills, however, children should obtain a limit of freedom that both merges the profound experiences during childhood along with the ultimate goal of safety. I ultimately agree that having freedom during your childhood can predominantly affect how you are as a person socially and helps build your personality. People whose parents detained them from the outside world seem to lack the amount of social skills, whereas people with more liberal parents are more outgoing. However, I believe it is a necessity there should be a reasonable amount of freedom which coincides with your age and mentality. Moreover, exceeding the limits of freedom can be malignant as today there are many examples of the death of innocent children because of shootings and criminal activity. As you move on to adolescence, you begin to realize that the “outside world” can be highly dangerous and begin to question your safety and of those you love. However, these tragic events are not guaranteed yet preventable. Parents should allow their children to experience freedom yet cautiously and reasonably.
I believe childhood today is over supervised, at least for many more people than it used to be. Personally, when I was younger my parents made a point to let me do things like climbing trees or climb high on the playground, but at the same time I was always supervised. For some of my friends, their parents didn’t let them do many of the fun but mildly dangerous things that are associated with being a kid. While this does certainly have benefits and is often safer and prevents plenty of mistakes, it is also kind of sad to me when older people tell stories of how much fun they had as a child doing things that simply could not be allowed now because of the risk. Overall, I think kids, if they are allowed to do dangerous things, will for the most part learn to do them safely and learn to be cautious in the process, something I honestly think of as a decently important skill. Kids are not usually as careless as people assume.
@Madelyn Elvart Adding on to your claim, I believe that letting kids be responsible for themselves allow them to learn responsibility at an early age. Furthermore, allowing kids to be more free can lead to them relying on their parents less, essentially becoming more independent which will prepare them for events such as going to college. In addition over bearing parents can lead to strained relationships with their children as many children may interpret their parent’s behavior as a response to the child being irresponsible or untrustworthy. Apps like “Life360” only make this worse as parents can literally monitor their children 24/7 from any cellphone. Allowing kids to roam a bit more wildly lets them see the world without constantly worrying about their every action getting them in trouble or grounded. However, some form of supervision should still be in place in chance anything goes horribly wrong but there’s a fine line that parents have walk and they have to decide where that line falls.
This is a question that can go both ways cause like in school they monitor you everywhere you go but on the other side you parents can be care free
In this day and age it is clear that technology greatly influences how “free” someone’s childhood can be. For example, the app “Life 360” is used by a lot of parents to track where their kid’s phone is at all times. Apps like these restrict the freedom of childhood, but without those restrictions, technology can open up a whole new world that is being embraced by the younger generations. Some may think that technology opens doors, but in my opinion, it closes them too. A lot of kids would sometimes rather sit in their rooms playing video games, or scrolling through social media instead of going out and trying a new sport. The influence of technology may be positive in some cases, (such as making it easier to meet up with friends, or signup for a new activity), But because of all the restrictive applications, and the temptations of video games, children don’t have the same experiences as they did 10 years ago. Despite the advantages, children will make different decisions with the influence of technology, children will have less freedom.
Whether or not a child is over supervised all depends on the parents. Personally my parents are really strict and make sure they know exactly what i'm doing, where i am, and who i'm with. Some of my friends' parents aren't as strict, as long as they are safe then they can do whatever with whoever. My parents are known to be “helicopter parents”, I'm not allowed to hang out with certain people, I have a tracker in my phone, they look through my phone, and i'm not allowed to hang with just boys, I have to have a full plan before i go out anywhere. Some of these rules I do find necessary. Usually I think it's too much because I need to be able to have some freedom without them right behind me all the time.
@Madalynn Larson I don't really have stories like the author because I never had that freedom. My dad would always tell me stories of him just going out then coming back when it was time for dinner. He now tells me I don't have as much freedom because the world is different today, there's too many bad people that would love to take a little girl. The wildest childhood story I have is when I was swimming in the river with my brother. My mom told us not to go past a certain point because the current was way too strong. Of course I am curious and small. I went past the line and got swept away. I started crying and held on to a rock as hard as I could. My mom's boyfriend at the time came in the water and told me I needed to swim to the tree. So I pushed off the rock and swam with all the power I could. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to shore.
1
@Madalynn Larson
I don't really have stories like the author because I never had that freedom. My dad would always tell me stories of him just going out then coming back when it was time for dinner. He now tells me I don't have as much freedom because the world is different today, there's too many bad people that would love to take a little girl. The wildest childhood story I have is when I was swimming in the river with my brother. My mom told us not to go past a certain point because the current was way too strong. Of course I am curious and small. I went past the line and got swept away. I started crying and held on to a rock as hard as I could. My mom's boyfriend at the time came in the water and told me I needed to swim to the tree. So I pushed off the rock and swam with all the power I could. He grabbed my arm and pulled me to shore.
I think it's good to give children unsupervised play here and then because it teaches them how to become more independent and do things on their own and not have to watch their back 24/7. It teaches them to learn from their own mistakes and make their own experiences. When i have children i will definitely give them more freedom, i want my children to be able to make some of their own wild stories without me crawling up their back.
I love my parents very much. However, they aren't the most interesting people. The stories that Cressida Cowell tells in this article aren't even close to things I have experienced with my parents, and are things that I never will experience with my parents. Cowell talks about how her father sat with his legs hanging over a cliff. When my family visited the Grand Canyon, my mother wouldn't even let me go close to the edge. She mentions how her father accidentally tied their boat to a lobster pot instead of a buoy when they were blown out to sea; my parents rarely go far out into sea when we are on our boat, and when they do, they make sure the boat is anchored the best as it possibly can be before anyone moves around.
My parents have always been very overprotective, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it isn't a great thing either. I understand that their number one priority is to keep me safe, but it causes me to miss out on so many important experiences. It inhibits me from doing things for myself, and causes me to be more rebellious. I believe in supervision and protectiveness of your children, but I also believe that some parents take it too far, and cause their child to lose some individuality.
1
In my personal opinion I do believe today’s methods of parenting are way too protective and often times weirdly invasive. Many of my friends have apps like life 360 on their phone that allows their parents to track their exact location at any time of every day. This to me is just so shocking, parents are now tracking their children like lost dogs and somehow feel like this is a good thing. This style of parenting isn’t doing any good for the children — rather it is just creating sneakier children with more complex lies. When your parent doesn’t trust you, you can’t trust your parent forming an unhealthy relationship between child and parents. Up until the last few years parent-child relationships were built on honesty and trust and that worked out perfectly well for many. Now many parents are just taking things too far to the point where they’re hurting their kid. Parents need to take a step back and let their kids be kids.
Headline: Over protection or Just Keeping us Safe?
As of now, yes, children are generally overprotected. Back when I was 10 I would go out into our woods after school, and come home at sunset, almost every day. Parents now will not let them out of their sight. There are good reasons though, with phones, I think parents should have every right to go through them. The only thing is the phone tracking stuff is creepy, even if they don’t trust them, just ground them. When unsupervised, kids learn what is really going on, if they get hurt they will learn how to function and not just fall over dead. I can relate to her story by drawing. I like to draw and sometimes I prefer drawing over just looking at my phone. My wildest story as a kid is just growing up. It was a wonderful experience and phones never took away from that. There aren’t really any drawbacks except for right away. If you got hurt that is the drawback, but in the future you would be prepared for it to happen again.
Headline: Overprotection or Just Keeping us Safe?
As of now, yes, children are generally overprotected. Back when I was 10 I would go out into our woods after school, and come home at sunset, almost every day. Parents now will not let them out of their sight. There are good reasons though, with phones, I think parents should have every right to go through them. The only thing is the phone tracking stuff is creepy, even if they don’t trust them, just ground them. When unsupervised, kids learn what is really going on, if they get hurt they will learn how to function and not just fall over dead. I can relate to her story by drawing. I like to draw and sometimes I prefer drawing over just looking at my phone. My wildest story as a kid is just growing up. It was a wonderful experience and phones never took away from that. There aren’t really any drawbacks except for right away. If you got hurt that is the drawback, but in the future you would be prepared for it to happen again.
@Justin Bolsoy
What you're saying about over protection and it's connection to technology is completely right. I especially agree with you're point about phone tracking; just this past weekend I got a text from my dad while I was hanging out with friends casually saying that he noticed I left the movie theater and gone somewhere else. I understand why parents these days are more protective: we're growing up in a completely different world than them, but there is a difference between caution and an outright invasion of privacy.
Growing up, I played outside with my friends. I jumped out of trees and off of docks. I dug in the dirt and cartwheeled on the beach. Now, though, as a teenager I barely have the freedom to go out without being watched or tracked by some sort of technology. Thankfully, I have great parents who mostly understand the concept of privacy and freedom.
My parents care about me and want me safe, but differ from other “helicopter” parents today. I think that parents who feel as though they need to control their children have a very unhealthy relationship with them. By doing this, parents will never build trust with their kids and will drive them to do more things out of their will.
Although I’ve might not have had the same adventurous experiences as Ms. Cowell did as a child, I would love to give my children the same opportunities. While keeping their safety in mind, I think children should connect with nature from a young age and learn the importance of figuring out their problems for themselves. Children must learn life lessons without someone constantly hovering over their shoulder. They should have trust with their parents and feel like they can tell them anything without being in too much trouble for just being honest and asking for help.
1
According to stories from my parents, as a kid my grandparents would always lay a blanket on the ground before I could sit down in the grass. Despite this I can’t recall much of my childhood at all, and when I look back I can’t remember a time where I felt like I was being overly supervised.
Of course my childhood was nowhere near as adventurous as Cowell’s. I would mostly spend my time indoors playing with toys. And since I lived in a pretty urban area, the countryside wasn’t exactly a stroll away.
That’s said, I remember having much more freedom in my childhood than many of my friends say they did. Many times wandering off into the nearby forested areas with my cousins whenever we visited a family member. Nothing crazy like Cowell’s childhood but some intense moments here and there.
I think that how much a child’s life and adventurous spirit is restricted depends a lot on the parents and even the environment that one lives in.
My family is rather lenient and I find myself incredibly surprised when my friends talk about their childhood, since it often seems like they lived pretty restricted lives.
I don’t really know how it has benefited me throughout my life, but I am grateful for how my parents let me live a pretty interesting life.
I don’t think strictness is necessary a bad thing, it helps to build discipline. A wild child would have a harder time adjusting to school life than someone who has always lived by rules. But wildness does help build character and leniency.
1
When I was Younger I used to play around with my cousins and friends and we would explore all around and I would have the best time and I would just feel free. We would venture into the woods and run around the neighborhood. But now at age 16 I can barely go out without my mom knowing exactly where I am. We have so much technology that we have no more freedom. No more privacy. We are constantly being watched and judged and getting asked so many questions because parents might think that we are doing “bad things”. When our parents were younger they had no technology to be stalked and watched with by their parents. So that's why our parents and older people have so many fun stories of when they were younger because they were allowed to just go out and have fun. But some people when they grow up they wont have many adventurous stories to tell because they probably got caught with Life 360 or Find My Friends or some other crazy apps that keep us from being teenagers.
I glance down, and my vision blurs as I dig my fingers deeper into the tree trunk. The ground seems pretty far away when I’m perched on a ledge with nothing but leaves and branches holding me up. The fear grips me just a little bit more as I try to scale back down without losing balance. Then my dad says, “It’s ok. Hope, I’ll catch you.” I’ve heard those words too many times to count, and I usually listen to them when I’ve dug myself into a hole.
Though I’ve never lived life on the edge by dangling off a cliff, or spent my life living on an island, I’ve had my fair share of adventure. As technology seeps into the younger generations, the interest in the great outdoors diminishes more and more. Freedom does play a role in how grand and adventurous a childhood can be, but it does depend on how interested a child is about the world around them.
There Also is safe to take into account. As time is going on, we’ve become more aware of how endangered young children can be. There isn’t the ability to just let your child roam free because we have informed ourselves of protecting our kids. Wandering around in the woods isn’t the only way to become imaginative. Being imaginative can happen wherever you are, whether it be through your drawing, or hunting through the woods — or even swinging on your backyard swings.
I think that children today are over supervised and that there is to much supervising going on. The childhood today is not as before and is supervised more due to parents and how they protect them due to what has happened with real world experiences. The childhood of these times should be more wild and free and able to explore more and live there life and not just stay supervised for half there life. They should be able to go out and do what they want with some bit of rules of course but thats beside the point.
@Destiny Campos I think we can all come to an agreement that children are overprotected, that is so true that they are protected from the real world experiences.
@Destiny Campos I fully agree with you. At this time, most of the parents want to have complete control over their children not understanding how much fun and a lot of other things they are going to miss because of that. I think if my parents would control my childhood a few years ago maybe I wouldn't become who I am right now. My parents cared about me but they didn't try to hide me from the real world and I'm very thankful to them. So, I think parents these days should care about their children, but not having full control of every their action.
I believe that childhood is over supervised today. But I do not think that it’s fully the parents fault. We have all grown up in an age where the media is very prevalent. The media is partly to blame for this helicopter parenting style. They portray the world as a scary and unforgiving place and while this is sometimes true we can’t always be afraid. The media only covers the bad stuff such as school shootings or kidnappings. Of course we must be aware of these things but we can’t let it control us and our lives.
@Larissa I agree with you on how we can't let things control how we live our lives. Yes bad things happen but we just have to be thankful and hope that it doesn't happen to us. Because living in fear isn't actually living.
I do think that childhoods today have less freedom to explore. I wish there was more freedom for children. I think being alone and sometimes scared is the only way you truly learn. I think without experience of scary times or hard moments you can never be prepared for when you get one when your older.
@Luke kirkland I also think that children today don't have as much freedom to do things on their own. I agree that having experiences that scare you will help you learn for when you are older.
@Conner Kelley thank you this made me smile, I'm happy to share this opinion!!
Overall, childhoods today are over supervised. I think that some of this is due to the fact that parents see the world as more dangerous. Our parents’ childhoods weren’t as supervised because their world was “safer.” The ways that our world has changed since they were kids, has changed how they supervise us. All they want is to make sure we are safe, and can we blame them for that? Our parents can be overprotective sometimes but in the end they mean well. I also think that if our parents had an overly supervised childhood they then over supervise their kids’ childhoods. Although, they also may supervise their kids less if they were overly supervised because they want their kids to have that freedom in their childhood.
@Allison Ciero One of the main things that most people are forgetting are phones. Doesn't it seem like that is a huge reason as to why adults are over supervising?
From the stories my dad tells me, back in “his day” he was way less supervised than I am. He would ride his bike everywhere starting from a very young age, but my parents wouldn’t t let me ride my bike alone until I was around 10. However, there is a valid point in suggesting that there is a lack of interest to explore the outdoors, so when kids want to, it alarms adults more. When I was younger, I never really felt the desire to run through the woods. My friends and I would have much rather made a dance or gone on the trampoline, so supervision wasn’t really needed. Furthermore, my younger brother would much rather play video games all day with his friends. In addition, I think increased technology is to blame for the increased amount of helicopter parents. Although my parents don’t, I know plenty of people whose parents track their every move on life360. They can’t even attempt to go anywhere their parents don’t know of. Personally, I think this is unfair because when our parents were children their was no life360, and kids had the opportunity to venture off.
I do believe some parents can over-supervise their child too much especially when it comes to sports. I’ve been playing baseball since I was 4 years old and even now when I am almost 16 it’s appalling the amount of parents that are over their kid’s shoulders during the game. Some parents aren’t just hard on their kid’s but the coaches too, trying to get their kid a starting position on the team because they believe their child is the best. At points I have felt bad for umpires even when they strike out a parent’s child on a questionable strike and the parent lays into the umpire with insults. I will say ages 4-10 as a parent you should guide your child through sports. But eventually as a parent you need to realize that not everything is about your kid and you need to let go when they are playing the sport they love.
I think that childhood is defiantly over supervised. My. Hold hood was not bad, I still had lots of freedom, but I know friends who are very limited to what they do. The only way that kids will learn from their mistakes, is by making them. Parents think the best way to protect their children is to make sure they don’t do anything stupid, but without making mistakes, once kids are in the real world they won’t know how to act without supervision. But as our world is getting more modern there is more danger, which does justify over protective parents. I also feel there is a certain trend, that the kids that had the most supervision get in the most trouble once their away from their parents. Overall, today parents are too overprotective and they end up harming their kids in the future.
I think that childhood today is very supervised, but I think this also comes from a lack of interest in exploring. The childhood of me and my older brother was a lot more supervised than our younger brother’s, but he also didn’t ever have an interest in doing anything possibly dangerous that our parents would need to supervise. I would want to explore the woods behind my house or ride my bike to my friend’s house one afternoon but my parents wouldn’t let me go if I wasn’t being supervised. My younger brother would have preferred to stay inside than hang out with friends, so my parents rarely had to make rules about him leaving the house.
I have also noticed how my parents have become a lot less strict about where me and my siblings go as we have gotten older. I went from not being able to ride my bike by myself in my neighborhood to my mom asking very few questions when I drive myself somewhere. I think that as I have gotten older, my parents have become less concerned about where I’m going but just want to know if I’m safe when I get home. So yes, I did have a strict and supervised childhood, but overtime I have been trusted with a lot more freedoms.
To answer the question, I do believe that childhoods today are over supervised. Parents controlling little things can be defined with one word: Procrastination. Life is a process that has parts that everyone experiences, whether it’s as simple as riding a bike in the rain, or not so simple like going to a party. Since it will all happen eventually, being controlled during your childhood is not actually stopping anything. Whether that makes it worse or not is up to debate, but I feel it does. Something the article did not seem to mention was the effects of strict parenting. The effects start once a child leaves home, also known as going to college. Once they are independent, I believe that the first thing they will do is to try everything a parent would not allow. But it isn’t black and white, and in the grey area is where the solution lies. An over supervised childhood consists of parents always telling children that they can not do something. The solution is simply not telling them anything, and although having basic rules on communication and curfew, letting a person develop during their childhood sets them up for a much more successful experience in college.
I do think that a lot of kids are to closely supervised today. There are now so many ways to track your kids and what they do. The lake of trust creates an unstable relationship between kids and their parents. I think that I have a lot more freedom to explore where I live and the nature around me than other kids. I am privileged enough to live in a very safe place but I cannot say the same for my friends. Thus I understand why their parents feel unsure about letting them adventure outside. The authors childhood is a lot more active than mine but I don’t think I could live like that. It’s almost too spontaneous for me. I do however wish that I could see more of nature. I think letting children play unsupervised helps instill a crave for discovery and learning. I think if you hold are constantly holding a child's hand all throughout their life it creates dependency and doesn’t teach them to advocate for themself. Limiting a child's ability to explore by themselves also starts to limit their child like wonder. That being said you shouldn’t let kids have complete freedom. Poor decisions can be made resulting in them getting hurt. I haven’t read any of Ms. Cowell’s books but I might be interested in reading them to my kids. I want my kid to experience life to the fullest. I want them to play in the mud and scrape their knees. I just want them to be kids as long as they can.
In my opinion I do think that childhoods are over supervised. I think it is overly supervised because kids need to learn how to live and make mistakes and learn to live from them. All kids deserve to be able to explore without a parent looking over their shoulder. When I was younger I was allowed to go outside and play with my neighborhood friends but I did have to be home before dark. One of my best friends at the time was rarely allowed to come outside and play with the other kids because their parents were very overprotective.
Compared to my mom's childhood, I have been very supervised. My mom was allowed to walk to the movies with her friends and was allowed to go to the local diner at any time she pleased. Although back then the world was a safer place, I still think kids today should also have some kind of freedom.
n my opinion I do think that childhoods are over supervised. I think it is overly supervised because kids need to learn how to live and make mistakes and learn to live from them. All kids deserve to be able to explore without a parent looking over their shoulder. When I was younger I was allowed to go outside and play with my neighborhood friends but I did have to be home before dark. One of my best friends at the time was rarely allowed to come outside and play with the other kids because their parents were very overprotective.
Compared to my mom's childhood, I have been very supervised. My mom was allowed to walk to the movies with her friends and was allowed to go to the local diner at any time she pleased. Although back then the world was a safer place, I still think kids today should also have some kind of freedom.
Parents nowadays are much more protective of their children than they were in the 20th century. Hearing stories about my parents’ childhood makes me wish I was born when kids enjoyed a higher level of freedom and individuality. My mother describes running free in the woods and the neighborhood until the five o’clock whistle blew. As a teen, my father had a truck and a job and was able to run wild with friends to water ski on lakes and grab dinner at the Dairy Queen.
The amount of worrying parents do nowadays is excessive. It is not a bad thing to set boundaries for your kid, but it is not necessary to shield children from life completely. This sets them up for failure. Kids who never face the real world will be overwhelmed and unprepared for life as an adult.
A few years ago, my cousins and I took a trip to Jamaica. My brother and I were free to explore, play on the rocks, and go snorkeling while my cousins weren’t even allowed to run or experience nature around them due to their parents’ restrictions.
This reminds me of the poem, The Lesson of the Moth by Don Marquis, which provides an interesting way to view the overprotectiveness of parents today. In the poem, a moth flies close to the light to experience joy and also risk death, while a cockroach has a boring life that will last longer. I believe that the joy of playing outside and experiencing nature and freedom is worth the risk of skinned knees and poison ivy and better than a riskless life, shielded by parents.
@William Hudson my parents have also told me stories of how when they were younger they would ride their bikes everywhere; to and from school, gas stations, their friends houses. They would stay outside and until it got dark, and they had very few restrictions. When I was younger, I wasn't allowed to ride my bike around my neighborhood circle without my parents or my older brother.
Like you said, in Don Marquis' poem, he talks about living for the experiences rather than playing everything safe. Parents should definitely watch out for their kids' safety, but it's also important to let them live and make memories from their experiences.
I think that freedom is important for children to have but ultimately it is up to the parents to decide what is best for their children. The lifestyle that Ms. Cowell describes herself having seems fun and exciting, but it is completely unattainable for almost everyone. It is unrealistic to tell parents to let their nine year olds run around a busy city or suburb. When you live in small towns or less populated places it is a lot easier to give kids the freedom that they want. I did get freedom when I was a bit older but the freedom came with strict rules to keep me safe. Children need freedom but they also need rules put in place to keep them safe, many people would love to give their kids the kind of freedom Ms.Cowell had but it is not possible.
@Emma McLaughlin I agree with you. As more families move to the city, children are deprived of exploring the wilderness. Sure taking vacations to get a break from the city air is good, but it’s not like living in a small town were you know everyone and everyone knows you.
I moved from a small town in Connecticut to a city. It was definitely quite a change. I was suddenly striped of my freedom that I had in CT, but I know it was to keep me safe. Like you said, children need freedom. They can’t be put in a box and expect their imagination to be as developed. Having such experiences as Ms. Cowell would be amazing but most kids can’t. So the parents are trying their best to supplement this freedom to their child in certain circumstances.
Yes, our generation is over-supervised, and most parents feel like they have to know where we are at all times. My parents are slightly more lenient, they will let me go almost anywhere I want unless it's clearly dangerous. I was raised with lots of freedom, my parents educated me on common sense and what to do in suspicious situations and let me deal with things on my own. I think that's a good way to introduce your child to the world, by telling them what they need to do and letting them have their peace. If they want to be idiots, let them, but know the world will bring its consequences. My brother, 3 neighbors, and I explore the marsh and Cape Fear River floodplain behind our neighborhood, and my parents trust me and my 17 year old brother to be cautious and take care of ourselves.
I know this makes it sound like my parents don't care, they do, they just have raised me well enough for me to be on my own, and I plan to do the same with my children. I can't say I've had any experiences quite as crazy as Ms. Cowell has, but I also don't live on a desert island off the coast of Scotland.
My mom’s always been quite worrisome over me and my little sister as a kid. She’s always been very cautious, and has never been quite comfortable with leaving me and my little sister alone when we were little. But we turned out fine, and I’d say I had a great childhood. Despite this, my younger sister, who’s around 4 years younger than me has the wildest imagination I’ve ever seen. She could be put in a black box for all of her life and still imagine the craziest stories and worlds she’s ever seen. Anything she can turn into a whole different world to her, even if that be a somewhat barren backyard. Maybe it was thanks to Cressida Crosswell, because funny enough my little sister was obsessed with everything how to train your dragon, and would read or watch anything that had its name on it. I never quite understood it, but she was able to live on another plane than me despite us living under the same room. Although we didn’t live on any special scottish island, and had to be home by 4pm we still could imagine and be free in our own minds. I believe no matter how restrictive a parent is on how much their child should be supervised, or what they can and can’t do with an adult, as long as they aren’t restrictive on a child’s mind I believe a child can be free as they’d allow their mind to be.
I do believe our childhood is over supervised. Our parents barley got supervised when they were kids. So, why do we have be supervised. Its unfair. We can barley go out without our parents. Our parents also puts trackers on our phones, which makes us feel like we cant be trusted.
@Samantha
I do not know when to consider childhood to be over supervised. I believe that childhood should be over supervised in some aspects so children can grow to be disciplined and learn how to live on their own. When parents establish a structure for kids they will be able to choose to use that structure when they become adults.
that may be true but, kids today feel as though they cant be trusted.
In my opinion, children are overly supervised and protected, and it’s restricting them from learning or being creative on their own. It is important for children to experience dangerous things and go on adventures, it’s helps them learn about the world that they couldn’t learn with a parent standing over them. Often today parents will hover over everything their child does, being involved in all facets of their lives, and making sure they don’t even mildly hurt themselves. This supervision restricts kids from doing brave things, which are important for a child’s development. As a kid, I was given little and that’s how I liked it. I was able to learn much more about the wilderness, what to do and what not to do, and became more creative than my supervised counterparts. When I have kids, I’ll make sure to let them play without supervisor or fear, so they can be creative as possible. Sure they’ll make mistakes, but they’ll learn valuable lessons from those mistakes unlike children who are over supervised.
In the past, there were two types of kids. There were the ones who longed to be outside and to experience nature, or simply used nature as a backdrop for their imaginations. Then there were the kids who didn’t care so much for the world outside, but unlocked the secrets of their creativity on a sheet of paper or in a good book or in the pots and pans lying around the kitchen. Because parents now are more cautious, the kids who would’ve ventured into the woods behind their house or the pond next to the neighbors’ or the park a block over are limited just to the front yard or are forced inside. This wouldn’t seem like much of a problem if we simply had more kids who read books or got creative indoors, but because kids have access to technology, their active little minds are entertained by mindless TV shows or internet games. So, kids are never forced or even allowed to express their creativity, so they don’t think they are capable of it at all. Kids should be allowed enough freedom to get in some trouble or find some adventure. However, I can understand the plight of the caring, worried parent, so if they have to restrict their free reign, the least they could do is to restrict their technology privileges too.
Growing up in a modern world, I am faced with the threat of losing the connection with wildlife and nature. As Global warming threatens species and the environment, the greater are the chances of the future not being able to cherish nature. I often hear stories from the elders in my family about how they spent their childhood exploring in the woods, playing games, climbing trees, jumping over puddles, but more importantly, having fun in the Natural World. While older generations were able to interact with nature, we sit here and gaze at our screens for hours. While they dive into the waters, we merge into the virtual world of today. Why is it that we don’t realize the harm we have done to ourselves by limiting our time spent with Nature. The earlier we understand this crisis, the better it is. I believe that every parent should encourage their child to correspond and have fun with nature. After all, it is Mother Nature that brings humanity together.
Based on experience, I think that kids are being over supervised by their peers. If kids are kept overprotected then they never learn what to do, and what not what to do. My parents are overprotected, and that might be because of my ADHD... but I never get to do almost anything exciting! Now I get that kids have to be supervised because of safety things... but COME ON!!! Parents are on their kids' behinds because of whatever reason, but kids need to learn things for themselves. Children will never get to learn anything about the real world if they can't go into it.
In today’s society, I think that childhood is too supervised. I understand that kids shouldn’t have all of the freedoms in the world, but kids also shouldn’t have everything they do being tracked. If kids are being constantly tracked they can just live life in the moment and have fun because tracking also means they might be receiving a lot of texts from parents and lead to a lot of questions. While I did not have an excessive amount of freedom in my childhood I had a good amount. I think it is important that kids have freedom in childhood because it allows them to really cherish it and make as many memories as possible. That is why childhood is too supervised and kids should have more freedom.
My childhood was pretty free from what I remember. I would always play in my front yard with my neighbors, we would ride our bikes and scooters up and down our block without a care in the world and my parents would never worry. I do feel like childhood today is overly supervised, but there’s a reason it’s over supervised. When i was a kid my parents weren’t worried about me getting taken from my front yard or running away. Today it's a different situation; many kids just get taken from their front yard because of the lack of supervision. I also think that when I was a kid my parents weren’t overly cautious with me. If i scraped my knee, “oh well,” I would get right back up and keep playing. But now, even with my sister if she gets a small cut it’s the end of the world.
My childhood, while I am still in the teens, has been relatively free. My parents always had the standard rules of no dressing like so and so and don't talk to strangers, but they allowed me to play outside, do what I enjoyed, and have my own social media and I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. Although I can now understand why some parents don't like giving their children as much freedom since the outside world can be a dangerous place, I believe parents need to realize one thing, helicopter parenting leads to raising rebels. Your child is just like any other human, they want the ability to make choices for themselves and be independent and if you are restricting that to an extent the child will feel trapped and shadowed, leading to them wanting to move out exactly at 18. I have some friends with extremely strict parents and whenever their future is questioned one of the first things they say is that they want to get away from their parents and live in a different city or even state, while I would love to live with my family as long as I could. You can protect your child but there is a certain point where they become sick of you always in their business and in most cases they will begin to hide things and learn to be sneaky to avoid confronting you about anything. You should not treat your child as if you were their dictator, but as if you are their protection and friend. I'm not saying being projective is a bad thing, but let your child be experience things themself
When I first read the title to this article, without even thinking I thought “yes.” Without a doubt in my mind, society today is over supervised. Life is all about making mistakes and learning from them, but there is no room to make mistakes in this society. One wrong move and the rest of your life could be impacted by it.
My parents tell me stories about all of the fun times they spent with their friends and how these moments have created such good stories. A lot of these stories came from risks. Sometimes fun comes from taking risks or doing something out of your comfort zone.
As much as older generations and adults preach for kids and teens to get out of their comfort zone and push themselves, society supervision is fighting it. Even when I take my dog to walk on the beach, he has to be on a leash or I will get a $200 dollar fine. This is ridiculous. People should be allowed to enjoy nature as long as they take care of nature. Life is about experiences, but how are we supposed to have experiences when society has restrictions on nearly everything?
@Reilly Johnson I do agree with you that teenagers should have more freedoms when it comes to risk taking and making memories. However, when it comes to laws such as keeping your dog on a leash I don't agree with you. Those laws are put in place our of respect for nature and the animals living in it. It is just like a speed limit, it is put there to regulate drivers, the government wouldn't just have a speed limit based on merit, which is what you are saying, that people should be trusted to take care of the space they are in. I see your point, but there are some rules that are helpful to the protection of the environment, and that don't necessarily limit anyones freedoms.
In my perspective I think that children today are oversuprivised but, I do understand why parents feel the need to be protective. I remember once when I was a little kid and I got lost. My mom wasn’t able to track me since I didn't have a phone. In that case, when my child is little I will be more protected than when they are older. Yes, I understand the world is way more dangerous and more predators are out in the world, but children should have more freedom like our parents and grandfathers had. Though my parents give me freedom they still often check up on me but, it’s fine because I know they only do it cause they care.
In your opinion, is childhood today overly supervised and protected? Why or why not?
Childhood is definitely over supervised, but it is not to say for no reason. Although in today's world we have innovative technology like DNA testing and cameras on every street, parents can't help but be wary of technology and social media. However, this does not mean a parent should shelter their child, but instead, allow them to be free whilst knowing the dangers of the world.
If or when you have children, how much freedom would you allow them? Would you make opportunities for free play in nature a priority? Is a gloriously wild childhood something you would want to give them?
I would allow my children to have as much freedom as they want, as long as they know there are consequences for their actions and will try to be responsible. I would want to give them the opportunity to explore what they like and dislike, because a child is not "something", they are a "someone". I would want my children to experiment safely, but I also don't want them to be afraid to make mistakes. A gloriously wild childhood is something I would be willing to give them, if they wanted.
Childhood today is relatively protected and over supervised, with some parents it is because of how they were raised, as well as the possibility of it being the area. With many parents it is the fact that they were raised with little supervision and know how it is to have freedom, as well as the choices they had made with that freedom. With others it may be the area they are located in that makes them over supervise their child or watch about every move that they make. My earlier childhood was relatively free with the fact that I could go in and out of the house go talk with the neighbors and play at another's house. I had a curfew and had to check in every now and then but I was free to interact.
@May I agree that childhood is over supervised and that this may be down to neighborhoods not being safe. After events like 9/11, people don’t necessarily trust people easily like they used to. Parents do not feel safe letting their kids have freedom because there are more threats today like kidnappings.
In todays society I think it is fair to say that kids these days are somewhat over supervised. However I think it is fair for parents to do this because they grew up without that supervision and understand what that causes. While I had no crazy free chances of exploring nature living in the suburbs, I was given freedom to play with the neighborhood kids and have fun, which I wouldn’t trade looking back now. The benefits of having this freedom early on teaches kids to make relationships and explore without the fear of a parent constantly looking down on them. This freedom does come with the price of kids possibly doing irresponsible things or getting hurt without assistance from a nearby adult. It seems easy and naive to say that when I have a kid I will give them plenty of freedom to roam, however I’m sure part of me will want to protect my child. But I will still give them many freedoms that I was given and now I cherish.
My childhood was pretty free, I could go outside and ride my bike around the car loop of our apartment with my friends, or I could go out behind our building and play in the grass. I would say my childhood was pretty unsupervised when it came to playing. My parents trusted me to take care of myself especially because the house was just a few feet away. My mom would always let me go outside if I had my homework done, she would pop her head out from time to time or come out to tell me it was time to eat. Other times I went inside to get her to show her something I found or made outside. My lack of supervision taught me alot. It taught me not to climb the loosely secured rope to the next apartment level, that grass tasted bad and not to poke ant hills because ant bites are very itchy. Nowadays not alot of kids go outside, they stay inside and watch tv or their Ipads. While their children aren't getting bruised knees or blisters from playing outside they also aren't experiencing the fun of nature. While I did get hurt playing outside my parents were always there to patch me up, help get my feet back under me and send m back out there. Teaching me the importance of taking risks and being active even if I did get a scratch or two from my adventures. I wouldn't trade my experiences for any other childhood experience.
Now a days instead of parenting a lot of parents just give their child a electronic. by giving the child an electronic all the time children are not able to have the chance to go out and explore the world by the time the children are older parents don't trust them to go out with friends as they are always at home and don't have the "street smart" to be on there own
I think that depending on the situation parents could be seen as overly protective of their children today, I think this is because of the popularization of social media, parents today can look on social media and see this huge dangerous thing is going on and of course they would want to worry about their child's safety. I would say my childhood was as free as I chose it to be, I mean as a child I really didn't play outside that much, but I would prefer my parent to let go a little bit more than they do. This is because I feel that I am restricted to certain areas and am not free to do as a please and grow my creativity. The wildest thing I do every year is spend six weeks in a extracurricular summer program, even then I spent most of the days at home because it was more of a morning thing. I believe some of the benefits of not supervising your children is that they get a lot more connect to the real world and they become a lot more social. Some drawbacks though are they are not as safe hen they explore, but it does become a learning experience for them. I have not read any of Ms. Cowell's books, but they do sound awfully interesting. When I have children I believe that I would give them some more freedom than what my parents gave me, it would not be a huge priority though as I will worry about their safety and want to keep them close to me where I can watch them grow and play. I want my future children to enjoy their childhood, but life will have its ups and downs.
Speaking from the perspective of a young adult. I am in a unique position because I am old enough to recognize the "helicopter" parents, those who never leave their children unsupervised and follow them like a helicopter, yet potentially experience it for myself. I was blessed with a fun filled childhood because my parents believed in the concept that you learn by doing. following along the lines of, "I can advise you to not do something but chances are if I tell you no you might do it anyway and we would rather know that your going to do it and Shepard you along in the process". Which in my experience has worked really well because it allowed me the freedom to do things I wouldn't have been able to other wise. I think this is a valuable principle that parents should consider because how will your children learn otherwise? You can tell them all the information you want on what is good and bad but, as kids we are hardwired with curiosity and the need to want to know for ourselves. The more parents can get behind and support this understanding the better off they will be.
The children we see today are different than the children we used to be. Nowadays children don't have the freedom of doing whatever they want, due to social media. I feel that when we were younger our parents influenced us to go outside and explore, today parents throw an electronic at the kids and they are quiet, out of the way and don’t have to worry where they are or what they are doing. When I was younger I felt that my parents were less worried bout what I was doing and wanted me to get out and learn and explore. Today, I feel that parents are more selfish and more concerned with children due to social media.
I do believe that children are being over supervised now but it’s for the right reasons. Technology is beginning to take over the young generations life. When our parents were kids , internet wasn’t even a thing or it was slowly on the rise. Nowadays, technology seems to be all we know. You see young children already glued to their parents phone or tablet. As kids you should explore - go play outside , make friends with the neighbors, collect all the small animales outside. You will never have the experience of being a kid ever again : make it worth it. With parents becoming helicopter parents, they’re leaving no room for their kids to explore. To an extent should they be over supervising, but to another extent they have to understand that they’re kids and are just curious to see what’s out there in the world. Children are starting to lose the lack of creativity us and our parents once had. All parents want to do is protect their child , but as a kid the only way you learn is from your mistakes. They’ll make mistakes , that’s the cost that comes with being a kid , but it’s what they learn from mistakes that help them shape into who they are. Parents need to let their kid branch out more and breathe every once and a while.
In my opinion, the rise in technology use has directly increased the over supervision of children. Technology allows not only for an easier way to supervise children, but also adds to the fear parents may feel about their children’s safety. This rising awareness has, understandably, encouraged parents to be overly vigilant in regards to their children. However, even though the motivations can be understood, this overly vigilant attitude can hamper the ability of children to learn an explore, an important part of growing up. As someone who was raised by overly protective parents, the increased supervision of children can often lead to negative effects, despite the parents’ best intentions. Since these children do not get to explore on their own when they are younger, they often struggle to do that when it is most necessary, when they are older. This is leaving kids more unprepared for adulthood, and while it is important to protect children, it is also important to let them explore on their own.
I don't think that it is overly supervised today. The world we live in now is very different from how it used to be. I think that parents have the right to protect their children but not to the point where their children are completely clueless to what is happening in society. While they are still young, it is okay to keep them away from the danger but there is a certain point in our childhood that we should be exposed to the real world so that we aren't completely unprepared for what could happen.
My childhood was freeing but my parents and I had a silent acknowledgement on what I could and couldn't do. I did go and explore forests and nature but I was always with friends or my brother. I actually prefer my childhood because while I did have freedom to explore and try new things, I understood that my parents had certain expectations and boundaries that I could not cross.
When kids are unsupervised in nature, they can explore and learn new things without the influence of adults. It helps foster their imagination and creativity as well. When their freedom is taken away, they lose the early opportunities to develop skills that are often over looked by parents and teachers as well.
I don't know for sure that its being over supervised but I have definitely noticed an increase in how parents are being more cautious with their kids, sometimes by giving them stricter limits than the ones kids my age grew up with unless they had super strict parents. This can have a negative impact on how their child will develop mentally and cognitively, as with more help from their parents, they don't know how to fix it without actually having to experience it for themselves. As the child is not able to learn from their mistakes and grow. Kids with more parental intervention can grow up to become less independent and not as efficient at real world problem solving than a kid who was able to learn from their mistakes from an early age, but this does not mean that a person can grow from their mistakes once their older. It's just that more independant kids may have a better and calmer time approaching a real world problem when it does happen.
@Matthew Byrnes Although not all parents are as strict with the supervision of their children as others, I agree with you about noticing an increase in how cautious parents are. One example of this idea that comes to mind is the mode by which parents let their children go to and from school everyday. When I was younger in elementary school I was obliged to walk to and from school most of the times unless the weather conditions were particulary poor. Now that I am in high school, whenever I pass the middle or elementary school, I notice that there are many fewer children walking home than there are getting picked up by their parents. To me, this only stands to prove that most parents do not allow or trust their children to walk home by themselves for fear that they might get kidnapped or not get home safely for whatever reason. I believe that the way parents isolate their children from experiencing the outside world is very harmful to the development of a child. If a child is never left by themselves in a relatively low risk environment, how can one hope that they develop the basic real-world skills that can only be learned from experience and making mistakes in the real world? The younger you are when you make mistakes, the better off you will be because as you get older, making mistakes has more of a negative impact on one's life. In conclusion, let children makes mistakes while they are young so they must not make them in the future when the stakes are so much higher.
When I was younger, I remember exploring the local park. My mother would drive me there, sit down on a bench with a book, and let me explore. At the time, I thought this park was a world of endless possibility, a vast landscape of grass and trees that might be filled with monsters or dragons or any number of things. Though I now realize that same park is nothing but a small patch of grass and trees, all kids should be able to experience that same feeling of wonder with the natural world.
Though kids do not have to do anything as dangerous as Cressida Cowell, parents should let kids enjoy themselves and have some imagination rather than preventing them from going outside or plopping them down on the couch with an iPad. Without having to create a bit of fun for themselves in nature, children never learn creativity and other skills that can be utilized later in life. Also, having room to make mistakes and learn from them without a parent hovering behind them is important. While parents should not hover, they must also not be complete absentees, and check in with kids as they traverse the area around, whether it be a city block or a true forest. This lets them stay safe while being semi-independent. If I were to have kids, they would be encouraged to explore and take joy in the natural world, and be discouraged from getting into dangerous situations. This would provide creativity, a curious spirit, and the ability to learn from mistakes, which are all things kids need.
1
@Sean Hession, Your experiences resonate deeply with me. Our neighborhood park was never anything much, but it was when we were younger. It was our kingdom, with dragons and fire and magic. The old creek was a rushing river called Damselfly Dale, the narrow pine tree that had fallen over it was our bridge, the slopes were great mountains, and our imaginations made it so much bigger than it really was. That small neighborhood park actually became the layout for the book I am writing right now. Each memory I have had there has been woven in, some way or another, into my writing. My mom did pretty much the same thing that your mom did- she would pull out her book and let us run wild- so as long as we checked in periodically. (This policy was more strict after my friend and I got stuck in mud in a miniature swamp, but that’s another story). At any rate, all of my adventures and misadventures truly have cultivated my imagination and my ability to interact with the world independently. As with what you had said, many parents do just plop their kids on the iPad because it is the easiest way to keep track of them, but maybe we need to get lost sometimes. We need to be covered in mud and get twigs in our hair and make mistakes. We need to live more in our childhood instead of figuring out how to do it as adults. That’s why parents must let their kids into wild, even if they come home with bee stings and skinned knees. That’s how we learn to pick ourselves up again.
1
I think parents are very overprotective nowadays. When my parents and grandparents tell me stories about their childhood, I envy their freedom. My parents have never been very overprotective and as I get older, I have been privileged with a lot of freedom. However, I have friends that are not allowed to do half of the things I can do. I don't think parents of my generation are that bad, but parents of young children are very protective. I agree with keeping an eye on your kids, but it is getting excessive. Being a helicopter parent is proven to set the child up for failure. They will never have to cope with the real world and when they become adults, they won't know how to. I feel bad for teachers that have to deal with complaining parents because their child failed a test. My mom is very supportive, but she never goes to teachers about anything that is my fault. I respect that and I plan to parent my kids the same way. Overall, I think over protection is a problem and parents need to loosen up nowadays as it is hurting the child more than they think.
When I was a child my parents had a few rules, always have a buddy, look both ways before crossing the street and make sure you are home before dinner. These rules were to make sure we didn't get kidnapped and that we weren't outside all night. As a child I had so much freedom, I climbed trees, light poles, and climbed through the drainage pipes in my neighborhood. Never once did my parents yell at me for doing any of these things. This helped me gain a love for the outdoors and be able to experience things without a leash yanking me back from experiencing things. I have noticed my younger sisters who are 6 years younger then me do not have the same luxury. Parents just worry too much about their kids and it's easier to just put them in front of a screen and call it a day.
My childhood was not as wild Ms. Cowell's, but my parents weren't constantly hovering over my shoulder either. When I was younger, I was free to explore the world around me within the parameters that my parents saw fit. I have an older sister, so I was able to venture onto the path beyond our house and build forts in the woods as I pleased as long as she was by my side. I think my opportunity to wander unsupervised was a great blessing towards my imagination and creativity development. Without those adventures outside, I would’ve never developed the games that only further fueled my curiosity with the world around me. We pretended we were the lone survivors of a shipwreck; I developed a curiosity with how one would actually survive in an emergency situation. We pretended that the weeds we found could heal any wound; I developed a curiosity with what plants were actually used for medicine. My freedom as a child led me to identify what things I found most fascinating about the world. Without exploring the stretches of my imagination, I never would’ve become so intrigued by environmental science and biology. I do get concerned when I hear parents discussing their rigid ideas of how a child should grow up. In controlling every single action that a child takes, there is practically no room left for them to imagine. I think it’s certainly important to be aware of your child’s safety at all times, but I don’t think this should reach the point of sacrificing their very childhood.
---Part 1---
One of the best things about having a grandfather are the stories. When I was little and I would spend the night with my Grandparents, we would always gather around a meal of either country ham with scratch-made biscuits or the occasional famous blueberry pancakes. When we all sat down for ‘supper’ we would bless the food and then Papa (my grandfather) would start a story. I remember forgetting that I was supposed to be eating food, so entranced by the wonder of the adventures my papa had all over King’s Mountain. When he was little, he and his older cousin found an old metal pipe and made a homemade shotgun. A few years later my grandfather made a cabin in the woods (along with the same cousin) using actual trees they actually cut down with an actual homemade axe. However, the story I made him tell and retell was titled “Riding the Pines.” It goes like this: One day my Grandfather and his friends went into the forest to play hide and seek. One of the boys climbed up a young bendy pine tree that was about 40 feet tall. Ater all the other boys had been found they could never find the boy in the bendy tree! Well, as the story goes, the boy had gotten to the top of the tree and swayed back and forth until he was able to reach the next bendy tree. The boy (only about 7 yrs old) proceeded to JUMP to the next tree 40 FEET IN THE AIR. This eventually turned into a sport where each of the kids would get a row of trees and race to the eat by swinging and swaying.
When I was a kid I was able to ride my bike all around my neighborhood and all I had to do was tell my parents I was leaving. Even now at 16 I don’t have life 360 and I don’t even have a curfew. I believe it’s because my parents have full trust in me. I think it’s easier today to be concerned and over protective of their children. They see things on the internet that make them worry about the safety of their children. It’s very understandable why they would be worried. There are some pretty gruesome stories that you can find that could make anyone scared. Although you have to remember these things that you hear about don’t happen to everyone, in fact they are actually pretty rare. With this in mind I do think that children are over supervised but it depends on how much the parent trusts the kid and how trustworthy the kid is.
As long as kids will be kids parents will always try to protect them as best they can, it’s just that some parents don’t want to worry as much. I believe that parents have gotten a little to hands on with the safety of their children, but can you really blame them. Compared to the 1970s the outside world is a lot more enclosed, there aren’t very many sprawling hills or giant creeks to explore instead replaced with neighborhoods and modern day suburbia trying to fit into the dwindling landscape as best as possible. With said compactness of space comes more people and compared to the crime rate of the 1970s, ours is just a wee bit bigger with a whole lot more people. It’s called stranger danger for a reason. Although I do still believe that some parents are babying their children a bit, it seems better to let kids explore a little than keep them cramped up in their house. Parentings hard man.
Since everyone has a phone, it's easy for parents to know where you are. When I was in middle school I had this app called Life 360. It was made for parents to track where their kids are due to the GPS in the child's phone. This was probably the worst app a teenager could have. Sometimes the GPS would tell my parents that I was somewhere else when I really was in the right place which got me in trouble a lot. Don't get me wrong, if I was a parent I would want to know where my kids are at all times. The problem is, if you don't give your children space to grow up, then they'll never learn the overall complexity in life. Especially if you nurture them 24/7. I often ponder the quote "nothing ventured, nothing gained". Hopefully, I will remember this quote when I have children so I can tell myself that they need to be free once in a while. let them make mistakes, otherwise they cannot learn from it.
I have grown up in a household that want me to be kept indoors. My parents firmly believe that the entire world is out to get us. They talk constantly about child trafficking and how my city is not safe to be in. I know they only do this to care for me, but they have gone over the bounds of being concerned to being overprotective.
Our family lives in one of the best cities in the state, yet my parents don't want me to step a foot out of the yard without supervision. If I am leaving the nest in less than 3 years, I need to be given at least the slightest sliver of responsibility. Parents need to make sure they don't cross the fine line of being too overprotective.
Sure I had my fair share of wild childhood stories like, the time I had to get a quarter surgically removed from my stomach, or the time I got attacked by a dog and had to get 70 face stitches, or the time my siblings and I played kickball in the dark and I accidentally broke my stepsisters arm tagging her out. However these are nothing compared to some of the stories that come out of my parents mouths. Sometimes I wonder what on earth my grandparents were thinking, letting them do some of these things.
The truth is, it was a completely different time, there weren't as many people that kidnapped young children from their yards, and there was less awareness of safety concerns. People used tanning oil as sunscreen, and let their 8 year old kids leave the house until dark. I couldn't imagine my mom just calmly cooking dinner while I'm out who knows where, but I wouldn't want to. I don't mind that our generation is protected more because I trust that previous generations have learned from their mistakes and that they are doing what is best for their children.
Look at this comment section, none of these kids were deprived of a fun childhood despite the rules we had, and guess what, we are all alive. All of us whether we are grateful for how we were raised or not, were kept safe by our loved ones, and that's all that matters.
I believe that today kids are over-supervised too much but at the same time I understand that in certain situations it is necessary. I just wish the world was at a state where you could go out with friends by yourselves with no supervision, but the world is a lot different compared to when our parents were young. The idea that if you venture to a bad part of town you might see things or have things happen to you is quite sad. I believe that today's parents are justified in wanting to keep their kids safe because the world is a dangerous place.
Childhood supervision is largely dependent on the mindset of parents. While some mothers and fathers are more overbearing and strict, others are more laid-back and lenient. A more domineering style of parenting has been proven to have negative impacts on a child’s behavior. Over-supervision in parents today, whether it be through monitoring screen-time or search history, is a common trait for many new mothers and fathers. Social media and technological advancements have largely affected a parent’s ability to spy on their children, and while this has proven good in some cases, it can also enable a new wave of helicopter parents. Safety should always be the first priority in a parent’s mind when it comes to their children, but over-stressing a child’s safety can lead to an obsessive and smothering method of parenting. Personally, I believe that over-supervision today is a moderate to extreme problem, but is largely dependent on the leniency of parents.
Cressida Cowell writes about the “thrilling excitement” of exploring nature that comes “without an adult hovering behind them [the children].” This example describes a child’s reaction to the liberating sense of freedom that comes with a lack of over-supervision. While it might be helpful in some cases to have constant parental supervision, being without it, according to Cowell, is much more rewarding.
Childhood supervision is largely dependent on the mindset of parents. While some mothers and fathers are more overbearing and strict, others are more laid-back and lenient. A more domineering style of parenting has been proven to have negative impacts on a child’s behavior. Over-supervision in parents today, whether it be through monitoring screen-time or search history, is a common trait for many new mothers and fathers. Social media and technological advancements have largely affected a parent’s ability to spy on their children, and while this has proven good in some cases, it can also enable a new wave of helicopter parents. Safety should always be the first priority in a parent’s mind when it comes to their children, but over-stressing a child’s safety can lead to an obsessive and smothering method of parenting. Personally, I believe that over-supervision today is a moderate to extreme problem, but is largely dependent on the leniency of parents.
Cressida Cowell writes about the “thrilling excitement” of exploring nature that comes “without an adult hovering behind them [the children].” This example describes a child’s reaction to the liberating sense of freedom that comes with a lack of over-supervision. While it might be helpful in some cases to have constant parental supervision, being without it, according to Coswell, is much more rewarding.
In my opinion, childhood today is overly supervised and protected because nowadays parents have the technology to keep track of their children wherever they are and the times certainly have changed. I would say my childhood is pretty free, but when was very little my grandma was always worried about me and always watched over me, but I don’t feel like she overdid it. I think that if I hadn’t moved to the United States I would have definitely been freer. My cousin who is the same age as me in Albania, which is where I was born, goes out with his friends every single day to play outside and he stays out late. When he asked me why I don’t go outside to play with my friends in the street I just tell him it’s not something we do here. When I have children I want them to have a “gloriously free childhood” because I don’t want them to miss out and disincluded form making fun memories that they’ll always remember.
@Emi G. In some ways, I believe you're right, but there are far more rules today than there were a few decades ago that force our children to live more closely-supervised lives. The new age of technology that we're living in right now allows children as young as four or five access to millions of sources of harmful media. This media provides our kids with a plethora of ways to cause all sorts of trouble, like downloading a virus that ruins a $1000 dollar computer or interacting with predators posing as young children online. These factors make it very important that parents are weary of what their children are doing on the internet and check up on them periodically to ensure they’re browsing the web safely. All that being said, children should still have some freedom to leave the home on their own and explore the world. Helicopter parents rob their children of the chance to know what its like to feel free from authority. They also make it far harder for children to adapt to the real world because in the real world, they won't have their parents there to do the entirety of their bidding for them. For these reasons, children should be given time to explore by themselves and discover their independence, but should have their activity on the web monitored because of how easy it is to make one wrong click that has severe consequences.
My mother is very lenient when it comes to parenting. She doesn't keep any restraints on me at all. She believes I am mature enough and slowly becoming enough of an adult to handle myself. I think that a lot of parents think their kids aren't trustworthy. I do think parents have some reasons to be sort of protective because of how much access kids have to smoking and drinking nowadays. I just sort of stick to my daily routine of going to school working out and doing my homework. I don't party or hang out with friends. I also care a lot about weight lifting so I have to make sure my sleeping, eating, training, and recovery are as good as I can get them. I think this sort of gives my mother confidence that I know what's best for me and that i'm not gonna do anything that puts my training in jeopardy.
Society seems to have many diverse opinions over how parents raise their children; whether it’s being a so called “free-range parent” or monitoring your child's every move, someone will always have something to say about one’s style of parenting. An intense kind of parenting- constantly monitoring and teaching a child- seems to be the most common way of parenting being in today’s modern upper class. Metaphorically, when parents keep their children on such a tight leash, it can cause their kids to live out their adolescents rebelling and getting into things that children who have less strict parents wouldn’t do. Kids who grow up having more freedom are not only more likely to be less dependent upon their parents, but the idea that parents have more trust in them, can build a more friendship based relationship with their parents. Cressida Cowell writes a short story in the article about how “free and wild” her childhood was and how the experiences that he had as a child helped her to be the “creative” and “independent” person that she is today. She notes that “it troubles [her] that children of today do not have the same freedom.”
I feel children today are over supervised.children today are being coddled beyond belief.I think today's generation will get to the real world and struggle to take it on without there mom and dad. I know I sound like a grandma sitting in her chair, telling you you are spoiled rotten. But it is right today generation won't understand the difficulties that most older generations faced. But that doesn't mean to let your children go out and do everything they please. They should be able to child that tree but not hang over the side of a cliff. Part of being a kid is finding out what's right and wrong with assistance from your parents but mostly on your own. Over supervising children will lead to them being not being able to be independent while trying to live on there own.
I personally heavily lean towards the side arguing that childhood today is over-supervised. Personally, growing up, I don’t remember a time when I was allowed to wander by myself. That’s not to say I wish my parents let me run rampant with no supervision, but sometimes self exploration and therefore self reliance is good. I believe that being able to explore by yourself is something that is necessary in childhood due to how much you learn from it. Learning through actions and failures is one of the best ways to learn, and if parents let their kids explore by themselves, that is when the most learning will happen.
Looking back at my childhood and how my parents have acted throughout it, I’d say i had a good amount of freedom, while also having limitations on what I can and can’t do. My parents have not restricted me from a lot of things and they’ve made sure I can be free to have experiences and understand things in the world. As for all kids today, it’s definitely a mixture of not being watched enough to being watched too much to the point where you barely leave your parent’s sight. It really just depends on the parents and their own experiences in life and how having a kid has gone for them so far. Parents that have gone through traumatic or dangerous situations would probably be way more cautious with their kid just because they don’t want the same thing to happen to them. I think that being cautious is good and understandable, but not to the extent that the kid can’t live life.
My parents have always been into hiking and climbing mountains and being in nature. Starting from when I was very young, we would travel to different places to walk down trails or hike up very tall hills/mountains. My earliest memory of hiking for a very long time was when I was five and a bunch of my family went to Colorado. We hiked for very long and were going up very high, it could’ve been dangerous but my parents were looking out for me the whole time. They just wanted to have these memories with me and not shelter me from situations that could possibly be dangerous unless you’re prepared.
I understand that parents love their kids and want to make sure they are safe but nowadays they have gone a little overboard. I think parents should give their kids a little more freedom instead of hovering over them 24/7. Parents are becoming more overprotective. When the kid gets into the real world and has to deal with real world problems they won't know what to do since they were so sheltered by their parents. I think it's great for parents to be protective and make sure their child is doing the right thing but I think it can also sometimes get out of hand.
---Part 2---
They called it “Riding the Pines.” This story has always sounded so fun to me and Papa has always wanted to take me pine riding. But, the real proof of this story is in the result. My Grandfather is one of the most athletic and well learned men I know. He just turned 67 and on my life he can still shimmy up a tree. I’ve learned many life lessons from my papa and sometimes wish I would have had the opportunity to create stories like this for myself to tell my own grand kids one day.
I grew up with a dad that loves to go out and do fun, adventurous, and even risky things so once I knew the ropes my parents were comfortable letting me do things on my own. So I didn’t grow up to be over-supervised but I believe that parents are now more cautious and protective over their children and I don’t think that is the best thing for the children. Currently I am fifteen years old but in just the short time of fifteen years, I have learned how to drive boats, wave runners, cars, motorcycles and even learned all about the maintenance of how to change my own oil, clean air filters, jump start a car, change a boat battery. But some of those things I had to learn on my own and make mistakes and learn from them.
One time I had to change the wave runner battery, my dad was out of town and I had to do it on my own so I found the right screwdriver and got to work. But then I lost a screw down in the body of the wave runner, I spent about thirty minutes looking for that screw. But I feel as if my dad had been there to “hold my hand” while I was doing that then I would have never learned to not let go of that screw. To be over supervised for the first ten years of your life is okay because parents need to make sure you don’t drink the chemical under the sink but for the next chapter they need to let you grow as a person and do things on your own.
@Taryn Connolly (Continued) : Because to make a mistake is just part of life and the only way to grow as a person is to make a mistake and learn. Even if it’s the little things, another thing I had to learn on my own is that while changing oil in my truck don't wear jewelry especially whilte bracelets. I feel that if you are too over supervised then it could lead to you not being independently stable as an adult and you are not going to know how to do things on your own, which could only end up limiting you further in life.
@Taryn Connolly
I cannot speak 100% accurately about how kids today are being supervised but i have noticed an increase in parents being a little more nervous with their children and what their decisions are. You could say it's “Helicopter Parenting” which is when parents don't make it obvious to their children, but step in when something they don't feel comfortable with happening to their kids, and intervene. This can be very helpful for kids like you Taryn to, as you said “learn the ropes” but it can also be harmful for a kids growth and development in life. It can hinder a kids ability to be more independent when they grow up, and must have more help solving a problem than a kid that is more independently inclined and can work through a problem by themselves.
Thinking about the childhood I've already experienced, I'd say I am somewhat free. I'm allowed to do some things, but others am not. My curfew is pretty late though, and as long as I'm honest with my mom about who I'm with, what I'm doing, and where I'm going, she will usually let me do things. Although most parents and children are different, I believe all parents are strict with at least some things. Since technology is so advanced now, and most people have phones, I think its easier for parents to let go, knowing they have that security but some parents don't allow children to own phones until they reach a certain age; it really depends on the parent and the amount of trust & love they have towards their child.
I have always thought that some kids were not watched enough but now I definitely think that everyone is being supervised way too much. Part of the reason for this is because everyone is scared that if you aren't near someone you know and or trust, then you might be in danger. I think it is very sad that nowadays we can't go out on walks in some neighborhoods or certain parts of town because you are scared you might see something or something might happen to you. Your family and friends just want you to be safe so I do understand the supervision. But sometimes it would be nice for it to be not as much.
With my phone, my parents are always checking it or taking it away or going through it because they are scared I’m going to run into the wrong thing on any social media or someone is going to hunt me down because they can find my accounts. Everyone has their accounts private because they are scared of the public and people being able to find you with just one search.
@Isabella Fabiano, It is incredibly sad how we do have to worried about children these days being kidnapped. In the past, it wasn't as regular as it is now and your right that is a huge reason for over supervising.
@Isabella Fabiano
I also agree that todays society is scary and that it is unwise to allow young kids to venture out without some supervision because the world has changed a lot since they were kids and not in a good way.
@Isabella Fabiano I agree with the points you made. Everyone is always worried that they are in danger. Of course they have a right to be, the world is a scary place but it is disappointing that we have to take all of these measures to feel safe.
I think that the amount of supervision on childhood depends from parent to parent, but generally, I think that most parents are overprotective of their children, but I can see why. Especially today, with more technology, it gives more opportunities for bad things to happen, so parents want to make sure that their kids are staying safe. In my childhood, my parents were protective of me, and definitely wanted to make sure I was safe at all times, but it’s not like they never gave me a chance to explore things. They did say no to some things I wanted to do, but I knew it was for my own good. But I still got a chance to explore things and discover my own things, while still staying safe. I think I prefer a childhood somewhere in the middle of being protective and not because I don’t want to be overly protected, to the point where I can’t explore anything on my own, but I do want to feel safe and protected to some extent, so I am happy with the protection I have now. I think that it’s nice to explore some things on your own, while still having someone you can depend on in the process. If I ever have children, I think I’d do the same as what my parents are doing to me right now: give them protection, but not too much that they can’t discover things on their own. I think I’d be somewhere in the middle with my kids, because I can definitely see advantages and drawbacks to each side, so I think I’d just stay somewhere in the middle with it.
@Catherine Jonathan I agree with your view on a middle ground between passive and overprotective. My parents are similar to yours, in that they mostly allowed me to explore my interests and said no to things that would potentially harm me. I would also probably implement this style of parenting because it doesn’t limit the child’s creativity and expression while also shielding them from potential bad or dangerous situations because I would have more experience and knowledge than them.
@Catherine Jonathan
I agree that in today's society that it wouldn't be very smart letting your kids venture out without supervision but I also agree with your idea of the middle ground because if a parent keeps their kid under their wing their entire life they won’t be able to be very sociable or have fun childhood memories.
@Catherine Jonathan While I agree with your view that parents should give their children protection while also allowing them to explore, I have to question your point that more technology gives more opportunities for bad things to happen. If anything, technology does the opposite. The explosion of video games and streaming services has made it easier then ever to play online with friends, watch a movie, or binge a tv show. Boredom only becomes more rare as the pull to screens continues to grow. Now I don’t think that using technology is necessarily bad, but when it is overused it becomes a problem. Parents should set strict restrictions on technology usage so that kids are forced to explore the outside.
I feel like children today are being over protected because from my experience, I'm not allowed to go anywhere without my parents (unless it was an afterschool activity where there was someone to supervise us). I just recently had my first sleepover at a friends house, and that was one of the few times I was at a friends house without my mom being there, and that's probably only because my mom knew my friends mom since she was in high school. My mom is a little bit overprotective, but my dad would probably be fine if i went to a friends house without him being there. One time, he took me to a birthday party at this golf thing. He had to go to some store, and he just left me there with my friends. I was surprised because I know that my mom wouldn't do something like that, and I was completely fine without him being there.
@Semra S.
I agree that your parents may have gone a little overboard trying to watch over you, but they do it with good intentions. The world is a lot more openly dangerous for kids now than it was when today’s adults were kids. Parents gradually started being more “helicopter”-y because kids were getting kidnapped and they didn’t want that to happen to their kids. If a child goes out alone, they're easy prey for child molesters and kidnappers. Parents don’t want their kids getting hurt, and while your mom went a little overboard, only letting you go to the sleepover because she had known your friend’s mom since highschool, it makes sense that she would want to know who she’s lending her child to. She’s entrusting her most precious treasure’s safety to someone else, and that can be scary.
When I was younger I was protected by my family a lot, they watched my every move whether I was going outside or going to a friends house. They always made sure I was where I was supposed to be, they had every right to be worried about their child's well being. As I got older the freedom I thought I had slipped away, over time I couldn't be out with my friends for so long etc. I think it was just from anxiety about me doing things i'm not supposed to, but with so much freedom getting taken away from you its just different. But if we were to talk about the children nowadays I think parents are trying to do their best and keep their children protected from the bad things that could happen. I don't think the kids now are overprotected but at the same time I think the children today should have a taste of the real world instead of their parents guiding them the whole time.
Yes, I think childhood today is overly protected. Especially with the development of smartphones, parents are alway monitoring where their children are, and are constantly checking in with their kids. My childhood was relatively free. I was able to do many things I wanted to do, but it was still pretty limited. I think some of the benefits of unsupervised play are that kids learn to be independent and cautious, and are able to teach themselves about the world. I think children that are overly supervised don’t really learn how to be responsible. They constantly have a parent telling them what to do, and never learn how to make a responsible, correct choice. If I had children, I would definitely try to let them have a lot of freedom, but I would still make sure that they are safe.
Growing up, I had a decent amount of freedom with how I spent my time. The neighborhood I live and grew up in is fairly normal - boring, even. The homes are tucked away from the bustling downtown life, with no through streets and no busy roads. Due to its relative lack of activity, my parents were fine allowing my sister and cousins and I to roam around on bikes. Even some of the more suspicious parks were in biking range. I had every opportunity to explore nature growing up - and explore nature I did! Being the oldest of my siblings and cousins, they often looked towards me for outdoor game ideas. I remember telling them stories about fairies and ancient princesses who lived in the playgrounds near our house centuries ago. The freedom granted to us by our parents gave way to creative thinking and memorable summers. With a large part of our lives today being filled with technology, children spend more time on iPads than they spend playing outdoors. We could blame technology for this, however, it is parents who prevent their children from leaving the house alone, even if it’s to bike around a couple blocks. Parental supervision is certainly necessary, though only to a certain extent before it depletes the creativity of children.
Growing up, I had a decent amount of freedom with how I spent my time. The neighborhood I live and grew up in is fairly normal - boring, even. The homes are tucked away from the bustling downtown life, with no through streets and no busy roads. Due to its relative lack of activity, my parents were fine allowing my sister and cousins and I to roam around on bikes. Even some of the more suspicious parks were in biking range. I had every opportunity to explore nature growing up - and explore nature I did! Being the oldest of my siblings and cousins, they often looked towards me for outdoor game ideas. I remember telling them stories about fairies and ancient princesses who lived in the playgrounds near our house centuries ago. The freedom granted to us by our parents gave way to creative thinking and memorable summers. With a large part of our lives today being filled with technology, children spend more time on iPads than they spend playing outdoors. We could blame technology for this, however, it is parents who prevent their children from leaving the house alone, even if it’s to bike around a couple blocks. Parental supervision is certainly necessary, though only to a certain extent before it depletes the creativity of children.
Growing up, I had a decent amount of freedom with how I spent my time. The neighborhood I live and grew up in is fairly normal - boring, even. The homes are tucked away from the bustling downtown life, with no through streets and no busy roads. Due to its relative lack of activity, my parents were fine allowing my sister and cousins and I to roam around on bikes. Even some of the more suspicious parks were in biking range. I had every opportunity to explore nature growing up - and explore nature I did! Being the oldest of my siblings and cousins, they often looked towards me for outdoor game ideas. I remember telling them stories about fairies and ancient princesses who lived in the playgrounds near our house centuries ago. The freedom granted to us by our parents gave way to creative thinking and memorable summers. With a large part of our lives today being filled with technology, children spend more time on iPads than they spend playing outdoors. We could blame technology for this, however, it is parents who prevent their children from leaving the house alone, even if it’s to bike around a couple blocks. Parental supervision is certainly necessary, though only to a certain extent before it depletes the creativity of children.
@Amelia Boeh Though kids should have some freedoms as you said, like being able to bike within a relatively small radius, some risks have to be considered as well. If kids wander off outside the area of a "couple blocks" where they are allowed to bike, what will happen then? Kids may easily get lost and cause parents undue grief. Parents need to check in with their kids. Though the easiest way to do this is through cell phones, this must be regulated closely. A child should not spend more time on their cell phone than out exploring safely, which is its primary purpose. With this in mind, kids everywhere should explore without danger in order to foster curiosity, adventurousness, and creativity in a way they can enjoy.
When the question arises: Is Childhood ROday over Supervised? I personally think that it is, when I was about ten was the time that I was even allowed off of the porch, I think that that rule is the reason that I don’t go outside unless it’s to skateboard. Childhood now for me even though I'm 12 I have been recently allowed to explore the streets of Philadelphia by my self as long as it’s in a sort of suburban area. My exploration not being supervised though I believe has led to me being able to go outside and explore more.
In my opinion today childhood is way over-supervised. Once in awhile my grandparents will let me go out without an adult as long as I bring a friend but, that’s only when they’re running late to pick me up after school. Also as long as I’m still within three blocks of my school. More than 90% of the time though I can’t go anywhere without an adult. I know that the adults in our lives no matter who is taking care of you wants to protect you and keep you safe but I think even then they can let kids go out and adventure on their own or just with friends and still be able to keep them safe by teaching them what to do in certain situations in case they may come up.
In my opinion I think that childhood today is over supervised. I think this because, say I want to go somewhere I need to tell my parents where I am going, what I am doing when I will be back and more. Also my parents have the app life 360 so they can see where I go at all times if I have my phone with me. I don't think that being over protected is a bad thing because I would rather be safe than sorry. I like to be safe because I don’t know what some people are thinking or have done in the past. I feel like my parents give a good amount of freedom without being under protective and I like that. All in all I think that childhood is overprotective but it is for the better.
I think children are definitely over supervised in this day and age. For starters, I think most of that is due to technology becoming more and more advanced. Now parents can track their children and they can constantly text them. I think this is how parents are over supervising kids. You could also factor in there is probably more crime these days, which doesn't really help the problem, but I think phones are the main reason.
In my opinion, I believe that my childhood today is quite overprotected as I always feel that my parents are checking in with me for everything ( this could even be riding down the block with some friends). It's not that I don't believe that children should be monitored, as there are various dangers in the human world, but there should be a limit to the amount of monitoring. Every day on my ride home from school, I will have at minimum two phone calls from each of my parents asking where I was and how was I. Though, even though I feel that my parents set a lot of pressure on checking in, they will still allow me to do most things I ask (after briefing the situation and where I had been going) and I am thankful I at least get that liberty.
As a child, I felt like I had freedom. When we went to the park my parents would let me run around where they could see me. But, when we went to a place like Disneyland where kids easily get lost my parents made me and my sister hold either my mom or my dad's hand and they would not let me go because they didn't want to lose me. Today, my parents are still protective of me but not as protective as they used to be. For instance, they track my phone and I have to ask them to go places and text them when I'm leaving somewhere or going some place new. So, yes childhood supervision today is a little over supervised/over protective.
Today, in kids' daily lives, parents spend way too much time worrying about their child when they are not around them in any way. It is totally agreeable to see that this is what has happened this day in age due to psycho's and crazy people. Too many kids get injured or killed because of violence, and it’s easy to see why parents go so wacko to protect their child. My parents have never been that over protective. I mean, usually when I go places I’m with my friends or family, so there’s nothing to worry about usually, but when I walk home from school everyday, I have to text them a lot let's just say. I have to text them when I get off buses and when I get home, and it gets annoying after a while. Parents also always have to now what your doing every singe second you’re not around them. Another thing is, is that that they know I’m not one of those kids that does stupid things when they’re not around their parents, so there’s nothing to worry about that. I'm very responsible when walking home, and very alert, unlike some kids that bast their airpods and text their whole life. I feel like kids can’t just enjoy themselves or run free anymore because of the cautions parents set, and the tracking devices they have. Kids have to be alert, and they can’t do things that they want to do without their parents permission, which is sometimes a pain being a kid right now.
I believe that childhood is over supervised these days. This is because whenever a kid says,” I´m going to the park with some friends¨, a parent just thinks of the worst-case scenario. When a child would say that, the parent would be like ,¨What if they get kidnapped?¨, or ¨What if they get abducted?¨. These thoughts get in the parents heads and they just can't get rid of it. That is what our parents think when we ask them a question like that. But, your parents can track you and make sure that you go places which you told them about. This is a very modern way of over-supervision by parents. Your parents will track you and if they find you going some place fishy, they will come and pick you up.
I do understand why parents can be so overprotective. But they sometimes can take it way too far. My parents won't let me even leave the house without their supervision. It's not like we live in a terrible community, but they think i'm going to get kidnapped anyway. Some parents have to realize that their children are going to have to enter the outside world eventually.
A classic misconception is the older you become, the more freedom you receive. I remember being so excited to become a teenager, as I thought that came with more flexibility in being controlled. Instead of leeway, I am now tracked 24/7, followed on social media by all family members, monitored in my plans, and ultimately just as supervised as I was throughout my childhood. I strongly believe parents are going too far in some of their precautions. I have seen first hand the consequences to helicopter-parenting, and so far have seen very few benefits. Instead of becoming better people, kids become sneakier and smarter with getting caught. Kids should be allowed to be wild and free, not caged and constricted and later despise their parents for the missed opportunities.
I think children today are not overly supervised but its just enough supervision. I say this because I feel as though today's world is much crazier back then and that there are a lot more ways that children can be in danger. It’s good that parents are able to keep track of where their children are on cellular devices because they will be able to tell their child where they should and should not go while they are outside. I would say my childhood wasn’t very free because since I didn’t have a phone (because I was too young) I wasn’t able to go many places without my parents because they had no way of getting in touch with me.
I think children today are not overly supervised but its just enough supervision. I say this because I feel as though today's world is much crazier back then and that there are a lot more ways that children can be in danger. It’s good that parents can keep track of where their children are on cellular devices because they will be able to tell their child where they should and should not go while they are outside. I would say my childhood wasn’t very free because since I didn’t have a phone (because I was too young) I wasn’t able to go to many places without my parents. After all, they had no way of getting in touch with me.
I think my childhood is definitely over supervised. But I don't necessarily think that it is a bad thing. One thing my parents always do is make sure who I am with is a good person. They want to make sure I have good friends. They do not want me to have a bad influence. I definitely think some things are way over supervised but it is their job as a parent to do that. The last thing they want is something happening to me and them not knowing what happened or where I am. Going back to the bad influence, “hanging out” with bad influences can lead to very bad things for example, vaping right now. It is a huge problem. So yes, I think i am over supervised but, I don’t think it is a bad thing.
In todays day and age it is hard for kids to be left to go have by themselves and be safe. The world has changed a lot even since I was younger. My mom and dad tell be stories about how when they were younger they would go do their chores, then eat some food, then go out and play in the rolling fields in Ireland. My dad and his brothers knew that once they heard the cow bell it was time for dinner and to head home. For my mom, it was when the smoke was coming from the chimney.
I dont have any younger siblings so im not exactly sure what is it like for younger kids in this time era but when I was a kid I do think I had some freedoms. I would be able to go on short adventures through out the neighborhood but it wouldnt be like the older generations. I definitly think that as the times have changed kids have been given less and less freedoms because our world has become less and less safe. Safety does play a role in our life as you cant trust people now a days which is likely a reason for the lack of outer world freedoms for younger generations.
I don’t normally go outside by myself because I don’t have many friends who live near me, and I don’t have that much time. Most of my afternoons are busy with extracurricular activities. My brother, however, is always out the whole afternoon and all weekend doing random things with his friends that he never informs us about. My parents like to know where he is going, but he never tells them, and they are not very overprotective. My parents track me on their iPhones which can get annoying. Whenever I hang out with my friends I’m always with their parents, but my mom is constantly bugging me about where I am. When I’m hanging out with my friends, I would rather enjoy it and have fun than text, my mom, constantly about what I’m doing.
I do think that a lot of parents are very strict and too over protective of their children, however I do not think that all parents fit this description. The phrase "wild and free" is too much and I don't think you should let your 5 year old kid run around a big city unsupervised for hours. There is a problem however when parents start looking through their children's phones and personal data that they have. This is an intrusion of privacy and can harm the developing mind of teens and children with the thought that they are permanently being watched. You should try to raise your children to the best of your ability but being strict does not equal being good. People need to live some and it's hard enough with how much school we have and how much schools are becoming like prisons. You should get to go home and if you're done with all your obligations not have to worry about someone constantly on your back. You should definitely get on your children if they aren't fulfilling all their responsibilities but if they do what they need to do and are a decent person there's no reason to pile on more stress to their lives.
I think childhood is, in general, over supervised. I wasn’t over supervised, but I can see the struggle of other people with parents that are crazy about safety. I had this one friend whose parents would pick him up even though his house was two blocks away. And it was a relatively safe neighborhood. The reason my dad let me do stuff was because most of my time was spent playing video games and any time I wanted to go outside my dad would let me go wherever. It wasn’t on some open countryside, but knowing the surroundings of my neighborhood has benefited me.
I feel like children do need to be taken care of and supervised better. For me, I had to build up good trust with my parents so I am allowed to do the things I do, like hang out with my friends in the city and stuff like that. I still don’t have as much freedom as I would like to but I do value the small amount I have. And in today’s day and age, parents have to be cautious. Not one day goes by where there isn’t some tragic story about a child on the news. Events like this can shake parents up and think “Oh god, what if that happens to my child?” Since us kids are just kids and don’t have children of our own, we can’t fully understand why parents are so afraid and cautious. But they also have to give kids some freedom, since if they have none they won’t have any sense of how to act in the real world.
I am very lucky to have been given a very good childhood. I am half Scottish so ever since I was old enough to travel alone (age 8) my twin brother and I would go visit my grandparents in Scotland every summer. During our trip there, we would go on expeditions, swim in waterfalls, and go to the local butcher shop. I am very lucky because I got to see what other cultures looked like from a very young age. My parents were never strict, they would let me and my friends run around in our backyard forests for hours on end. At my old house, we had a creek running from the top of our neighborhood through the forest and into the intercoastal at the end of our neighborhood. My parents let me and my friend Carmen swim from the top of the creek down to the intercoastal then swim and cover our entire bodies in the mud at the end. I remember getting so many rashes and cuts that day but I am just thankful to my parents because they really showed me how to have an adventurous lifestyle. I think growing up now in the 21st century with all the technology, kids will never fully get to experience what it's like to spend your weekends playing "kick the can" with the neighborhood kids until dinner time, and I wish it was still like that these days.
I had a fairly protective childhood I couldn't go to friend's houses or do a lot of things. But as I am looking back my parents gave me those rules to protect me and keep me safe. My dad is a police officer so he knows a lot about what goes on in our community and he just wanted me to be safe and avoid those dangers so I'm actually thankful for having a protective child hood.
I think today children are being overly supervised because today's world, is not as safe as it used to be and that my opinion. My childhood was very free I explored with my friends everywhere, I explored nature all the time where I lived. My wildest story when I was a child was with my friends and we were going to this big filled and it was full of dandy lions. and we were laying on top of the dandy lions and wearing it in are hairs and act like we were princesses. children lose the opportunity to see the world in a different way. I have not read any of Ms.Cowells books I am curious about her books because it sounds like a nice book to read about. when I have children I will give them the freedom to explore but they are going to tell me where there going and to stay close and I think they will still have the freedome in that way
In my opinion, I do think that some people are too over-protective with their children. I think this because a lot of friends are always saying how their parents are downloading apps like Life360, I feel that kids need their independence, parents don’t always have to know their child’s exact location all the time. If parents are too overprotective over their children it can cause unnatural relationships and they may not be able to do so well in the real world when they grow up. If you baby your child for his or her entire childhood how will they be able to thrive in the real world where there are bullies or if you aren’t being treated fairly? It may cause more damage than it should because the person won’t know that that’s normal and how this is how it will be for the rest of your life.
In my opinion, I think childhood is definitely overly supervised. You can´t walk down the block before getting a text requesting your location. My parents and grandparent love to retell the stories of how they held onto the back of buses to ride downtown with their friends. How they ran through the streets trying to catch footballs hurdling towards the ground. When I was younger, my closest friends were a combination of my siblings and my cousins. We´d ride our bikes up and down the block because we were allowed to go no further. We´d run around the backyard in circles because we couldn't do the same in the house. Say it´s the people in the white vans driving around or the kidnappers looking for another victim, but childhood for kids now is way less loose than it was before.
I believe childhood today is overly supervised and protected because the restrictions parents give their kids are very strict and can affect that child. My childhood was kinda free because I didn’t really do things outside of school, besides schoolwork and Skylanders. Adults frequently checked in on my school progress and they were pleased, so they didn’t really have to hover over me. With unsupervised play, kids can do so much more and explore the world. Also, kids will probably be much happier, since they can do whatever pleases them. Children lose happiness when they lose their freedom to play and explore because they will be sad since they can’t do what they please. The article makes me want to read some of Ms.Cowell’s books because the content is free and wild and can be interesting. If I have a child, I would tell them to contact me anytime there out of the house and I would tell them to download Life360, which is an app that allows you to see where your family is at all times. The Life360 app is an option if they have a phone. I would make the option to free play as a priority, but it is tough because there are crazy people in the world today and you don’t know if they’ll do something to your child. SO, I will limit the priority depending on how far they are away from home.
To be honest I haven't had a chance to see the world that much, it would be mostly go school and cheer practice. But I'm not that free how I want to. And I don't like when I feel so uncomfortable when my parents are around me. But to the me kids should have there spaces by themselves.They shouldn't have someone over there shoulder 24/7. But if they ask yeah it's all good.
While many parents today (including my own) tend to keep close watch on their kids, I do not see why it has to be seen as only a punishment. I see how having your parents hovering over your shoulders every second is and can get annoying, and at times it may even seem like they do not trust you, but sometimes to me it can be comforting. Of course there are always extremes where parents will not let their kids go ten seconds without asking them if they are ok, and whether or not they are hurt. If parents/guardians did not care the slightest bit about where their children were, then wouldn’t we have the opposite problem. I know if my parents were like this I would probably feel like I was forgotten in some sense, or maybe that they didn’t care about me. So is having an overprotective parent such a bad thing? As they say, “Can’t live with them, can’t live without them.”
I do think that our childhoods need to be more wild and free. My mom is always waiting for me to get home. When I was in fifth grade, my mom was always expecting me to call or text her when I got to school. Some of my friends have an app on their phones that show their family where they are so they can't go anywhere without their parents not knowing. It is kind of like a stalker app for your family. I think that childhoods are overly supervised and protected because many parents are very concerned for their children and they think everywhere they go there is going to be a person that is shady or a drug dealer or a kidnapper. They always think of the worst situation possible and find a way to stop that problem. For example, many children at my school take public transportation to school. Any one of them can skip school very easily and their parents won't find out. Some benefits of unsupervised play is that you get to experience more things and maybe learn how to take precautions to things that look dangerous. I think when children lose their freedom to explore and play they can become independent, introverted, and scared to try new things because they don't get out much and don't talk to many people except for family members. I remember in my first day of first grade, I cried before class because I was late and embarrassed and I didn't want to be made fun of. Also, I tend to be very picky a lot. I don’t like any condiments except for BBQ sauce, and I like most things plain.
As a child, I was led to believe that the world was my backyard and I was to adventure every corner. I still cling to this idea, but now it is a much different view. I used to patrol my neighborhood giggling with glee as my friends chased my through yard after yard. Now all of us stay holed up and our childish giggles are replaced with car horns and sirens. I see kids outside playing but never without the watchful eye of an adult. Some of my best memories are just us kids goofing around using our imaginations to keep us entertained. I pity kids now that have devices to dream for them and I hope that someday they too will find the adventure that raised me.
I think there are different levels on how controlling parents can be. Of course this is a dangerous world, and we have lot’s of new technology. But it really depends on the neighborhood. In some places, children shouldn't be allowed to just roam free and do whatever they want. Honestly, I don't think children should be wandering around in Philly unsupervised. The city can be dangerous sometimes. But other times, parents can be a little crazy about it. If your child is like 12 or 13, I think you can let them start to adventure a bit if they’re with a friend, or have pepper spray or something. I think it’s good to let children explore, but I don’t think it's okay to yeet them into the real world just like that. A message to all parents; “Learn how to parent.”
When I was a kid I felt as if I had a lot of freedom when in reality I didn’t, and I still don’t to this day. Obviously when I was a very little kid, my parents were always watching over me and wouldn’t let me go to far from the house. As I got older, they began to allow me to bike around town with my friends and go where I wanted to, but at the same time I got a phone. I had to keep this phone with me at all times, and every couple hours check in with my parents. I thought that this was fine since I was still be allowed to go where I wanted, but later I came to know the truth. For the first few years of having a phone I did not know that my parents could use it to track me. Everywhere I went my parents knew, and if I tried to lie to them they would call me out on it. I began to try and “forget” my phone at home or turn off my location settings, but nothing would work. To this day being tracked through my phone makes me angry and makes me feel as if I have no freedom. I see where my parents are coming from- they just want to keep me safe- but they need to have some trust in me. If I want to go somewhere without them knowing, they need to be able to trust that I am able to keep myself safe, and won’t get into too much trouble. So overall I feel as if I had a very supervised childhood, but I give credit to my parents for not making it seem that way.
In our current day and age, we are living in perhaps one of the safest times for children, well at least in the United States. The amount of protection methods parents use to safeguard their children are drastically different than those of perhaps 10 or even 15 years ago. Today, we have parents able to track their children via smartphone and keep a watchful eye over their child’s physical location. But there’s also all these parent restrictions on their child’s phones, tablets and even gaming devices. And with all this control over children’s whereabouts and what they do on their own on their devices, it brings up the idea that childhood today is in fact over-supervised. Despite obvious benefits to these parent supervision methods, it still can morally feel wrong. Children aren’t allowed as much freedom as before and can no longer just go outside without supervision nor use their devices to their desire. Obviously they are precautions to ensure safety, but to a certain extent. And with parents using such privacy-stripping methods to ensure safety of their children, it honestly takes away personal freedom children once had.
I have memories of going to my friends’ houses when I was younger and not even thinking to tell my parents. They always knew I was going to come back to the house but now that I’m 17, whenever I grab my car keys my mom instantly hears them and reminds me about my curfew and tells me she wants to know when I leave and arrive. This doesn’t really make any sense to me because before, she never questioned my plans but now that I’m older I feel like she is on Life360 constantly tracking me. In my opinion, there are too many ways to see what your child is up to. When I was younger, I didn’t have a phone and I don’t even think Life360 existed so my mom had no choice but to trust me. Now that I have a phone, she can always see what I’m doing anytime because she has access to “tracking apps”. I think parents should not use these because, although it may be tempting, there’s more harm than good and it violates the trust between you two.
I’m absolutely sure I would be a completely different person without the freedom I had as a child. My brother and I ran around unsupervised the majority of the time we weren’t in our house. We frequently got lost and it was terrifying at times, but we always found our way back and always got home. Some might say this is neglectful or careless of our parents, but I personally don’t think it's their responsibility to place unreasonable limits on kids once their child feels they’re ready for the independence.
I have a specific memory of my brother and I climbing over our fence of our back yard and walking literal miles into the woods behind our house. I was 8 and he was 10. It was about 5:30pm in the winter, so the sun was starting to set and we had no idea where we were. Max grabbed my hand and started running toward what we thought was the right direction, and we ended up on the main road close to our house and called our parents with a store employee’s phone and got picked up after it was far past dark. We were both incredibly scared, even is my older brother didn’t show it at the time.
When we got home, we told our parents about the adventure and they said next time we needed to be back before dark, but they were glad we’d had fun. That night didn’t scare me into staying at home next time, but taught me to ask for help, come back before dark, and trust my brother. If children don't learn these things on their own, they'll struggle when it comes time to be independent.
1
When my parents were my age, they didn’t have cell phones or wifi. Consequently, their parents couldn’t track their every move via technology. In today's world, the bane of every teenager's existence is an app called Life360. This app allows your parents to track your cell phone, and can even tell them how fast you are traveling. It can also notify them whenever you leave a location they choose to specify, and keeps all of your trips on record. While most parents love to force their children to download the app, they cannot imagine how different their youth would have been if Life360 was around then. In my opinion, children become more responsible adults whenever they are able to make mistakes and learn from personal experience. If kids aren’t given any opportunities to do anything outside of their parent’s view, how will they ever become independent or able to make good decisions on their own? Therefore, I do think that childhood today is over supervised, and if we want to raise the next generation to be leaders, change needs to happen.
When my parents were my age, they didn’t have cell phones or wifi. Consequently, their parents couldn’t track their every move via technology. In today's world, the bane of every teenager's existence is an app called Life360. This app allows your parents to track your cell phone, and can even tell them how fast you are traveling. It can also notify them whenever you leave a location they choose to specify, and keeps all of your trips on record. While most parents love to force their children to download the app, they cannot imagine how different their youth would have been if Life360 was around then. In my opinion, children become more responsible adults whenever they are able to make mistakes and learn from personal experience. If kids aren’t given any opportunities to do anything outside of their parent’s view, how will they ever become independent or able to make good decisions on their own? Therefore, I do think that childhood today is over supervised, and if we want to raise the next generation to be leaders, change needs to happen.
I do not remember much from my childhood, so some may say that it was not meaningful. However, I know that without my childhood, my current life would not be as meaningful as it is now. I say that presently, childhood is supervised and protected a great deal, but not to the extent where such protection is unnecessary. Our world is full of crime and threats to children, and there are many people who wish to harm or exploit such innocent minds. If children were able to roam around the world with no limitations, they would be exposed to such imminent calamity that great detriment that could occur enormously outweighs the benefit of being free. It, personally, does not matter to me how one handles their own child, but I want my child to remain safe and grow up to become a responsible competent adult. I do understand Ms. Cowell’s experiences but there is a reason I categorize “How to train your Dragon” as “fantasy” (besides having dragons). It is simply not realistic for most of us. This may be the reason why I like such books, because you get to defy reality, but I know that in reality, defying reality can have some major consequences such as getting lost or kidnapped.
In the current time I’d agree that the childhood is over supervised, however, I’d disagree that it’s much different than mine was. Growing up in a privileged suburb, there weren’t many safety concerns, but my strict, overprotective parents found a way to restrict me from every possible activity that involved me exploring the unknown. While overall parents have restricted their kids from so much more than the streets, parents of my hometown have allowed their 8 year olds to roam around and conquer their childhoods alone. I understand that parents want the best for their children, especially ensuring their kids safety, but I believe it’s important for them to find the proper balance of freedoms for kids to explore and make mistakes to learn and grow as human beings.
I would say I had a fairly free childhood; I don’t recall my parents being overprotective, and I remember roaming the neighborhood with my friends and my cousins. We were allowed to play in the cul-de-sac and the nearby park as long as we came back when we heard my friends’ parents’ dinner bell. But when I think of my parents’ and grandparents’ stories of their childhoods, mine seems restricted by comparison: my parents both grew up in the city and have stories of playing baseball in the street and taking the train alone at a pretty young age. I think that as our world becomes smaller (partially due to technology, partially due to the physical closeness of people), our childhoods become less free. It’s easier than ever for parents to check up on their kids at any time, so even if they’re far from home, they’re still just a phone call away. Parents seem to feel more comfortable letting their kids have free rein if there’s lots of people in the area. So even though it seems kids have the freedom to explore their worlds, parents are ever more capable of monitoring their children from afar.
We are often told that in order to succeed in life we need to be able to fail, and personally I strongly agree. As when I was younger I was exposed to many situations in which I failed, although I was hurt in the moment these memories and personal experience ultimately helped me become stronger in a physical and emotional sense. Now, from Life 360 to constant checking up on social media, parents today are smothering their kids. Although protecting their kids is important to protect them from outside harm such a child predators and dangerous situations, parents need to know the boundary between being protective and smothering and make sure they are not protecting their kids from failure. I am a firm believer than personal experiences are the best way to learn and the issue is that kids today are not being exposed to the real world. This makes them softer and less ready to tackle the world that they will be facing soon. Undoubtedly, Childhood is something that today is very protected by parents especially through growing technological advancements, and it may help make sure their child is safe but it is constantly making them less ready, less prepared for “real world” that is soon to come.
With all of the technology available to parents today, it has become too easy for them to become very overprotective. There are tracking apps to monitor everything from how fast you are driving to your exact location at all times- which is a violation of privacy, but since it is “for safety” it becomes normal. There is a quote that says “strict parents create secretive kids”, and with tracking apps becoming more and more common kids are finding new ways to distance them from their parents which is the exact opposite goal of tracking apps. My parents have told me that when I move out of the house I am going to be microchipped. I am not a dog, nor am I an experiment in a binge-worthy TV show. So please parents DO NOT try to control your child’s every move because all you are creating is a huge rift in your relationship, cracking due to a lack of trust.
1
@Lauren Alving I totally agree with you that it only hurts parent-child relationships for them to be overprotective with tracking apps and unreasonable limits to kid’s freedom. As kids and teens age into adults, giving them appropriate boundaries and allowing them to make decisions independent from parents helps them develop skills for when they’re forced to be independent out of high school. Mothers and fathers need to have trust and faith in their children to allow them to learn how make good relationships with others and become self-sufficient.
I know more than 5 people whose parents require them to have tracking apps on at all times. My friend’s app glitched one time and her mom thought she was at someone’s house, when she was really at a restaurant with an old friend. She was grounded for a month. It’s really sad that her mom can’t just believe she’s raised her daughter well enough not to have to have such extreme control and distrusting relationship.
Lauren, I’m sorry your parents want to put a chip in you when you move out of the house. I hope they change their minds.
@Lauren Alving Like you said, parents have the best intentions for their children's safety since that is whats most important to them. Although its important to look after you child's safety, tracking apps like life 360 aren't the way to go about protecting them. Parents and children should have enough care for one another to tell each other what they want, and respect to value and trust what the other says. That being said, teenagers are supposed to spread their wings and try being independent, but with some guidance from parents. Teens don't have the right to completely disregard their parents the same way parents don't have the right to completely control their kids.
I think our sense of exploration is beyond our parents though. This same technology that allows parents to track us is the same technology that keeps us locked inside our bedrooms for hours on end. Lets face it, most teens would rather sit in their bed on their phones or watching Netflix than go outside and explore what's out there. The writer explains how in her childhood she spent a lot of her time on an island off the coast of Scotland. No electricity or contact with anything outside the island for weeks on end. I don't know a single person that would find that enjoyable for the sole purpose they would be without their phone. But the other loved it, she loved exploration and limitless discovery. It inspired her to write famous books and live a life full of wonder.
@Lauren Alving Like you said, parents have the best intentions for their children's safety since that is whats most important to them. Although its important to look after you child's safety, tracking apps like life 360 aren't the way to go about protecting them. Parents and children should have enough care for one another to tell each other what they want, and respect to value and trust what the other says. That being said, teenagers are supposed to spread their wings and try being independent, but with some guidance from parents. Teens don't have the right to completely disregard their parents the same way parents don't have the right to completely control their kids.
I think our sense of exploration is beyond our parents though. This same technology that allows parents to track us is the same technology that keeps us locked inside our bedrooms for hours on end. Lets face it, most teens would rather sit in their bed on their phones or watching Netflix than go outside and explore what's out there. The writer explains how in her childhood she spent a lot of her time on an island off the coast of Scotland. No electricity or contact with anything outside the island for weeks on end. I don't know a single person that would find that enjoyable for the sole purpose they would be without their phone. But the other loved it, she loved exploration and limitless discovery. It inspired her to write famous books and live a life full of wonder.
Growing up I never really understood how much my parents were sheltering me. I never really watched scary movies or got too far from home. I didn't really go to a sleepover until 4th grade and never really had one at my house. My parents check my phone and I don't have social media. When I go run my parents follow me on a bike or in our golf cart. I have just gotten used to it and to be honest I don't really mind. I want to always be safe and know that someone cares to protect me. I do believe this to some extent, some kids these days tend to stay inside and play video games or are on their phones. When my mom was growing up there wasn't that kind of technology and she used to play in the creek, ride her bike around, and get candy from a nearby gas station. She told stories of all the adventure and freedom she had as a child. I think it is harder for children to do that these days due to the world advancing and changing, but if you spend a few minutes outside you will be surprised to see what you can find.
5
Although children today are living in one of the safest times in the world, kids are definitely being over supervised. It has become a violation of privacy at this point. Many middle and high schoolers are being watched like a hawk with all the new technology, such as life 360. This app shows everything: where someone is, how fast their moving, etc. Kids today aren’t getting the experiences that their parents got because of this technology. Parents got to go out and get into trouble, sneak out, go where they’re not suppose to go, but, this helped them gain experience and realize who they are. Now, for example, my friends mom completely controls her so she can never do anything fun. She can’t go to music festivals, sleepovers, or to the city. She’s missing some of the greatest memories because of life 360 and controlling parents. Parents need to chill out to allow their kids to find out who they really are on their own.
Being raised in a household where both parents work led to a childhood with less boundaries, one that was more free range. Even when they were home we still got to do what we wanted. There was barely ever a time when my brother and I were told no. When our parents were kids, they were given time to be back from where they said they were going, and their parents trusted them. They could be where they said they would be or be somewhere else, but as long as they came home on time it was fine. My family uses Life 360 to monitor my location, see how fast I’m driving, what time I leave one place and go to another which I feel is okay but sometimes irritating. To answer the question, yes I do ultimately feel that children should be more free from restrictions and able to do most of the things they please, but there must be at least some restrictions put on them or else there will be no respect for anyone.
First off I’d like to say I basically had a hard attack when I found out that the author of this wrote How To Train Your Dragon. I grew up watching and playing their video games was a good part of my childhood.
I think parents are way too protective nowadays. My dad would tell me all the cool things he’s done as a child and I can only dream about doing that. He would jump off the roof in garbage cans and climb trees and even hollow the trees out and climb them up from the inside. I wouldn’t jump off the roof but I could see myself climbing trees and going inside of them. But, I’m not even allowed to climb them and I’m in 10th grade. I’m not even allowed to ride my bike to school or anywhere by myself. I feel like I should be able to ride my bike to the park when I have free time and then forcing me to ride the bus instead of riding to school is harming the environment. I know they are only worried about something bad happening to me. But, that is how people learn, they learn from their mistakes. I also think that the news is playing a part in how overprotective they are. On the news they only hear the bad things that happen. A kid got kidnapped, someone died, a robbery these things come up all the time. This is what my parents say all the time it's too dangerous, kids get kidnapped all the time. When people only hear the bad they think bad things are going to happen.
Comment: In a day in age with increasing risks in society parents concerns have increased leading to a restriction on the freedom of younger kids. Well, I don't think kids should be holding up their dad from falling off cliffs ( I read that and was a little worried) I do think that kids these days need a little more freedom. Parents don't want their kids to get hurt and I understand that. But it's important that we go out into the world. Scrape our knees so that we can learn to get back up again. If parents shelter their kids then they will never learn to be independent. I understand the growing concerns but overall kids do need a little more freedom.
@Grace Trimpey-Warhaftig, I agree with you the only way we learn is for us to fail and get hurt. Once we get hurt or fail we learn what we did that caused that to happen. That's how humans evolved into what we are today and we are still evolving.
I think most children today, including myself, are over-supervised. When I was a child I got to go outside and ride bikes, play basketball, football, and other shenanigans with the other kids that lived on my street, but I was still limited on things I could do. I could only go far enough down my street to where my parents could still see me, I couldn’t go into my other friend’s backyards to jump on their trampolines with them, even though my parents knew theirs. Nowadays I am still being monitored in everything I do, my parents go through my phone every so often, my mom made me get an app called Life 360 as soon as I got my license so they could see where I am, when I am going, and how fast I’m going. I understand that parents want to make sure their kids are safe, but I feel like some parents take it too far compared to when they grew up.
As a 18 year old Senior in High School, of course my response to this question is yes, we are over-supervised. Many kids these days feel as if their parents are too strict or worry about them too much. I’ve been playing softball since I was 4 years old and even now when I am 18 it’s appalling the amount of parents that are over their kid’s shoulders during the game. Some parents aren’t just hard on their kid’s but the coaches too, trying to get their kid a starting position on the team because they believe their child is the best. We have all grown up in an age where the media is very prevalent. The media is partly to blame for this helicopter parenting style.
In my opinion, I would I agree the childhood today is more supervised and protected than when I was a kid. Back then the technology wasn’t such a big thing. Maybe just the TV, at least for me. Cases of kids being kidnapped or getting severely hurt started to happen and parents got worried and now will keep an eye on them more. Then as tech became more normal, parents got their kids one so if they ever got lost then they would just call. They would also text their kids to know where they are. Back then your parents wouldn’t know really where you are and would just tell to be safe or to come home at a certain time. Now it’s like your parents have a way to contact you and they do it anytime they feel worried. So I would agree that the childhood now is more protected than before because of how there is more communication available to know where your kid is than there was and because of all the bad things that has happen to kids in the past
I do think that today, all kids and their childhood are too supervised and they need to be free more. I lived a free childhood where I was able to go outside, ride a bike, play basketball, football, and get ice cream from the ice cream truck, all thanks to my parents allowing me to be free. They watched me my whole childhood and let my siblings do the same things I did when I was younger, which is something every parent should pick up. Parents are the ones restricting their child from doing all the fun activities they want and if a child were to free, they could grow a habit of being more socially active. For example, a child that plays a sport or joins a club is free and is having enjoyment in their activities is free, a child who stays at home because they want to or their parents say so and uses a lot of technology is not a free child. In some occasions it may not be the parent's fault for not allowing their child to have fun, as the child themselves can decide whether they want to play ball or watch TV.
I think kids are oversupervised today. Helicopter parents have always been a thing, but they are more asbundent now than ever. When I was a kid my parents would throw me and my brother outside, and tell us to play outside until they called us in for lunch. We would run around the neighborhood with other kids and do whatever we wanted to. We would pile up dirt to make a ramp, and then ride our bikes over it and try to do cool tricks. When that got boring we would go explore the burned down house in the field beside us. After that we would go sledding on a foldable table in the backyard. Day after day my brother and I would explore the world around us and soon became interested in the animalswe found. We would often catch horny-toads, frogs, snakes, and even a few salamanders. Being able to explore and do this on our own made it fun and exciting. I soon had a potion for wildlife and the world around me. Most kids today don’t get to experience this freedom which I think is a real problem. If they don’t have experiences like that how will they know what interest them. They will not be able to have experiences that allow them to learn from their mistakes, and figure out what they like and don’t like.
I think today children are over-supervised because there are a lot more danger in the world now then it was many years ago. I am a 17yr teenage girl with very strict parents. There are many reason as to why parents are really strict. One reason would be that there are risky activities that make parents scared. However, how can you have a fun childhood if your not exposed to risky things? I feel as if children are more exposed to risky business then they will learn from their mistakes. I know when my parents were young they were definitely over-supervised because their parents wanted them to be safe and never be in a pickle. So they are replicating the same actions to my brother and I. But I feel parents should not be so uptight and let us explore the world and have a fun childhood.
As a teenager more often than not I would argue that my parents can be too controlling of my life. However, in comparison to most of my friends it is clear that my parents were laid back. I feel a major part in wether or not parents act as “helicopter” or “lawn mower” parents has to do with trust. I have always told my parents where I am going, and while my mom will not hesitate to check Find my iPhone she will let me go out as I please. On the other hand, I have friends who have to update their parents hourly and ask permission to do anything or go anywhere. I feel my parents loose parenting style has helped me to become much more independent and prepared me for my future. Additionally, it is clear that nowadays kids are being supervised much more intensely. Not only that but parents are becoming so competitive to get their kids involved in as much as possible that they fail to look at what’s in their kids best interest. As a teenager I am far from being an expert on parenting, but from experience I feel helicopter parenting sets children back rather than providing opportunities.
Personally, I do believe that children nowadays are over supervised. Now, as an 18 year old senior in high school, I reminisce upon the days when all the neighboring children and I would run down the street to the park every day, without any parental supervision. I think that it is important for children to have these instances of freedom, for it allows them to develop more so as an individual, rather than relying on their parents for every move. At my job, I often work with young kids, and see third graders with cell phones and social media, which I often find to be quite shocking. Though it may be inevitable for these kids to be exposed to technology with an ever rapidly advancing society, it is not necessary for these kids to be tracked at every moment. This ultimately fosters creativity, for these kids aren’t under the watch of their hovering parent, or sucked into their device. Though some restrictions on freedom are necessary to protect the safety and well being of children, overall they are greatly over supervised.
I think that today children are often over protected by their parents. More than ever, news stories about children being taken by strangers and other people has been pushed because of a greater access to information. But for a kid, being able to go into nature alone is extremely important as it allows for creative expression without the influence of technology and parents. Though I think that parents should spend substantial time with their kids, they also need to let the children figure out things on their own. Though I live in a more developed area, so there are not a lot of woods nearby, every summer my family and I would go to northern Wisconsin and stay in a lake house. I eventually explored these woods so much as a kid that they became like the back of my hand and each time would discover the changes that naturally happened. As I think back in life these are the moments I remember more than almost anything else, and if there is too much parenting, I feel like kids may miss out on these experiences.
Being raised in a household where both parents work led to a childhood with less boundaries, one that was more free range. My parents still pushed me to be my best self, to get good grades, to be a good person, but their approach was a lot different than others. They relied on me to evaluate situations and to make the best decisions and learn from my mistakes. I feel as if today parents are hovering too much over the lives of their children, and not allowing their kids to be free. I believe there is a sense of trust that should be established between a child and a parent. A parent should be confident in the actions their son or daughter makes, and if they feel the need to have constant supervision and control over their child's life then it appears that they are doing something wrong, not the child. There's a great difference between a parent wanting to guide their child on the right path and trying to dictate what occurs in their life. Now more than ever parents need to realize that there will be a time where their children grow up, and its necessary for those children to have a sense of independence. While the connotation of a "hover" parent doesn't always have to be bad, it is something we should definitely take note of.
I personally feel that childhoods today are very over supervised. When I was much younger, I would hang out with my neighborhood gang all day and my parents didn’t have a clue where I was. But when it was time for dinner my dad would ring a cow bell and that was my cue it was time to come home. Also, if I wanted to see if my friends could even play, I would have to actually go to their house and ring the doorbell. Nowadays kids just text each other and coordinate when and where to meet up. Looking back it was fun to run around the neighborhood knock on everyone’s door and see if they could come out and play. I think that parents should allow their kids to go out and have fun with their friends, and know that their parents trust them.
Although it is out of a concern for safety, I do think our parents can over-supervise us. When our parents were kids, they were given a time to be back from where they said they were going, and their parents trusted them. They could be where they said they would be or be somewhere else, but as long as they came home on time it was fine. My family uses Life 360 to monitor my location, see how fast I’m driving, what time I leave one place and go to another. I can’t go out without having a perfect plan of who I’m with, where I’m going at what time, when I need to be home, etc. Parents also go through their kid’s phones or any technology to monitor what they’re doing. Of course they are doing it to protect their kids, but at a certain point kids deserve privacy as much as adults do. Kids are inevitably going to go somewhere that isn’t what they told their parents, with different people and not come home in time. It’s a part of being teenagers and always has, and technology has impacted the ability to do that. On the news I always hear “here’s how to monitor your kids on X app” or “here’s what to use to track your kid’s exact location”, and it is concerning that our parents often don’t trust us enough to let us go be kids.
Being a parent is no easy task, and like everything, I believe that there must be a balance. As a parent, if you never discipline your children, they will have few boundaries and you will find your house and your rules trampled over with no respect. On the other side of the pendulum, if you over discipline your kids, they will become obedient at the surface level but sneaky and mischievous underneath. In order for parents to have the most success at reaching through to their kids and to be the most effective at reaching this goal, parents must find a balance between discipline and leniency. To answer the question, yes I do ultimately feel that children should be more free from restrictions and able to do most of the things they please, but their must be at least some restrictions put on them or else their will be no respect.
In my opinion, I do agree that childhood today is more overly supervised and protected than it was when I was a child. I grew up being able to stay out past dark playing with my friends as I did not have to worry about getting kidnapped. I believe that this is the case because more children are coming up on the news as missing or dead because they were not supervised by their parents or legal guardians.
My childhood was very free and I was able to have many opportunities to explore nature without an adult with me. I now have to ask to go hang out with my friends and I have set times to come back and I will get into deep trouble if I'm only a few minutes late by that said time. I prefer my childhood over what I can do now.
The things that children lose when their freedom to play and explore the world around them is limited is natural curiosity and wonder. On the other hand, they could get injured and not be able to get the help that they need.
In my opinion, I do agree that childhood today is more overly supervised and protected than it was when I was a child. I grew up being able to stay out past dark playing with my friends as I did not have to worry about getting kidnapped. I believe that this is the case because more children are coming up on the news as missing or dead because they were not supervised by their parents or legal guardians.
My childhood was very free and I was able to have many opportunities to explore nature without an adult with me. I now have to ask to go hang out with my friends and I have set times to come back and I will get into deep trouble if I'm only a few minutes late by that said time. I prefer my childhood over what I can do now.
The things that children lose when their freedom to play and explore the world around them is limited is natural curiosity and wonder. On the other hand, they could get injured and not be able to get the help that they need.
As a 16 year old Sophomore in High School, of course my response to this question is yes, we are over-supervised. Many kids these days feel as if their parents are too strict or worry about them too much. The one thing we hate the most, is when we are not allowed to do something because it is unsafe or makes your parents uncomfortable. With the technology given to us today, I feel as if there are great alternatives to this. Life 360, a very popular App that is used all over the nation, is a good example that ensures safety of your child while giving them the freedom they want so badly. For me, I know my parents had plenty of freedom in their young lives while staying safe and having fun. I’m starting to think it’s time for parents to loosen the leash a little bit and let the kids be kids.
@Spencer Nolan I like how you talked about Life 360 my family uses that app and it is pretty strict with my family. I would like a little bit more freedom to do what I want seeing that I am almost 16.
I think today children aren't able to do things children forty years ago may have been able to do. There are many reasons for this. For one, there's a lot more pedophiles and sex offenders everywhere, no matter where you are. Unlike forty years ago when there weren't as many known and harmful people that tried to harm children. Another reason why children are overprotected is because technology is used so much by everyone, children use technology more than they go outside and play with friends. Then when children do go outside and play, parents worry that their children may not be safe because children don't play outside that often, there's more risk of them getting hurt. Within my childhood I always played outside with my neighbors, but I never was allowed to go down the street, because my parents worried once I left the court, someone might kidnap me. So I never was able to explore the glorious wilderness, but I wish I could've. The wildest thing I ever did was go to the park with friends and play basketball and get hurt by the basketball, because I wasn't very good at playing basketball. I wish I could've had more freedom because then I might have been able to learn a little bit about nature, and see the wilderness without limitations. The only drawback would be if I got hurt or killed. Reading about Ms. Cowell's experiences makes me want to read her books, but better yet experience it for myself. When I have children, I want them to be able to explore and see the world.
@Velma Martinez I agree with you. It seems that we live in a high-risk society and our parents just don't want us to get hurt and it is understandable to a point. Although I don't think this is a viable excuse for forever sheltering children. Yes, there are risks but sometimes you have to take the risks to earn an even greater reward.
Growing up all over the place was fun and adventurable. I was constantly moving due to dad's job. I always had so much energy as a child lol but I had the freedom to go down the street to get a milkshake with some of my friends and/or go running down the roads of my neighborhood. In my opinion childhood is a little overprotective but there's a reason for that. Our world has changed majorly since my childhood. I know that if I had children in today's society that I would be protective because I don't want anything to happen to them.
I do believe some parents can over-supervise their child too much especially when it comes to sports. I’ve been playing baseball since I was 4 years old and even now when I am almost 16 it’s appalling the amount of parents that are over their kid’s shoulders during the game. Some parents aren’t just hard on their kid’s but the coaches too, trying to get their kid a starting position on the team because they believe their child is the best. At points I have felt bad for umpires even when they strike out a parent’s child on a questionable strike and the parent lays into the umpire with insults. I will say ages 4-10 as a parent you should guide your child through sports. But eventually as a parent you need to realize that not everything is about your kid and you need to let go when they are playing the sport they love.
One arm at a time, I pulled myself up onto every thick rock of the mountain. The first eight year old to climb Mount Everest and the cold wind blew across my face. This was victory. When I reached the top, I was reminded that I wasn't in China but instead in the old oak tree in my friend's front yard. His mom had been yelling at him because he had broken his arm from falling off the same branch and she just worried for his safety. Hudson was stubborn and kept climbing but my mom had taught me to be a role model so I climbed down. I could've stayed in the oaks arms all day and peered down at all the ant sized people in the distance.
My childhood was filled with wizards, mermaids, and dragons and my parents supported my adventures through literature and the occasional back yard exploration. I believe that every child should experience some form of creativity whether it's Harry Potter or running like Usain Bolt. I am thankful that my parents gave my alone time to have my princess tea parties and deep reading of The Magic Tree house. It helped me think for myself and separate fantasy from reality.
I don't think that we are over-supervised but that's my personal opinion. I know many of people who weren't allowed to watch PBS Kids when they were younger but introduced to math and science right away. I agree with Cressida Cowell that we should be "Wild and Free" but to some levels. I don't think it's okay for parents to allow for their kids to do everything.
1
Part 2.
I don't think parents should give their children total freedom because what's stopping them from watching rated R material or developing violent traits from the the antagonist in their favorite books. I am not claiming that I didn't want stuff that was frightening, in fact I adored all of Studio Ghibli's content including My Neighbor Tortoro and even the slightly creepy Spirited Away. My dad would bring home the movies from the University's library and we would watch the animated films with or without my hands in front of my face.
The smallest details mean the most to someone's childhood and that is why parents shouldn't keep their kids away from new ideas or activities but walk the path with them.
1
@Chloe Scatton-Tessier I really love the way you describe your childhood, and I agree with you that parents shouldn't keep their children from new ideas and activities but should experience them with their children. I also agree with you that children should experience some form of creativity. I don't think I would be the same person if it weren't for my creativity as a child.
1
Parenting is harder nowadays than it was back in the day. Our world is crazy. So therefore, deciding whether or not childhood is overly supervised is debatable. This can depend on how protective the parents of that child are and how they try to control their life. For example, Billie Eilish, an 18 year old singer-songwriter is successful. Eilish’s parents allowed her at a young age to grow to have success, which is why she has already been awarded 5 grammy awards at such a young age. Billie Eilish’s parents were more lenient on her and they did not cage her in with protection, which led her to a wealthy future. Although, having lenient parents during an individual's childhood, does not always lead to a path of success. The first thing that comes to my mind would be the reality TV show, 16 and Pregnant. These young, teenage girls can be successful still in their future, but it will be difficult for them because their parents did not supervise them well enough. If parents are not protective over their child, then it is possible for them to get drawn into drugs, alcohol, intercourse-- to sum it up, trouble. Being overly supervised and protected by parents during childhood is dependent on the child and the parents as a whole in my opinion. I feel that children and teenagers should have freedom and independence in a way, but I also feel that interdependence within their relationship with their parents is highly important for them to grow into success in their future.
Just a few days ago I had a long conversation with my dad on the way home from cheer practice about this exact topic. My simple answer would be yes, parents are over supervising their children, but this topic goes so much deeper.
Children who grew up in the late 2000’s or even 2010’s have the trouble of experiencing this. Parents becoming more uptight and scared of their child's failure. Not letting their child fail deeply hurts them in the future. If they don't see the consequences there, they will continue doing it. If a parent simply holds their child's hand through life their kid will end up soft and unable to take the smallest criticism without it affecting them on a daily basis. In highschool, I have seen this problem a lot where parents are overly involved and later just end up making bigger problems with their kid, instead of just letting them handle it themselves. I have experienced too many crazy “karens” in my lifetime that bring way more problems than solutions.
“Today, children have much less unsupervised access to the countryside.” Cowell is completely right with making this statement. These children don't get to experience some of the best moments of my childhood because of the supervision. The children of the future didn't get to mess up and learn, which later in life is a very important skill for a person to succeed.
Through my experiences as a high school senior, I have seen kids with a plethora of parenting styles implemented upon them by their moms and dads. Overall, though, I feel that in this day and age there are too many parents that are overprotective and that create a false image for their child of what the world looks like. A popular app among parents is called Life360 and it tracks the child’s phone, alerting the parent when they go over the speed limit or are somewhere that their parent didn’t approve. In theory it sounds like a good way to make sure your child is safe, but in reality it just breeds defiance and distrust. Parents need to let their kids live a little bit, as they often did in their own childhoods.
@Grant Chay
While I see where the parents are coming from, I think it is about time they let go a little bit and give them the freedom they beg for. Life360 is a great way to ensure the safety of your child while knowing their location and letting them be free. Nothing will happen without parents finding out which is a great way to test the trust between children and their parents. All parents have different ways of raising their child, but freedom is something everyone needs to experience because the truth is, you only live once.
I turned 18 about a week ago. My parents were not in the era of helicopter or lawnmower parenting, they were trying to give us freedom and help guide us through life. I did not get a cellphone until 7th grade, I walked to and from elementary and middle school, and I always had sports. Yet today, the kids I babysit have phones in 4th grade, get picked up and dropped off from school, and they don’t do as many extracurricular activities. I do believe that this is because of the style they are parented by. Of course a helicopter parent is going to buy their child a phone “for emergencies” and pick them up after school so they won’t have to face the “dangers” of walking home. Letting your child live their life can be very challenging, but in the end it better prepares them for life.
@Jessica C
Back then in elementary and middle school it was okay to not have cell phone because nothing big really happened. I agree with what you are saying about it all depends on the type of parents you have. I also see kids that are in elementary school with phones.
I believe that childhood is over supervised today. But I do not think that it’s fully the parents fault. We have all grown up in an age where the media is very prevalent. The media is partly to blame for this helicopter parenting style. They portray the world as a scary and unforgiving place and while this is sometimes true we can’t always be afraid. The media only covers the bad stuff such as school shootings or kidnappings. Of course we must be aware of these things but we can’t let it control us and our lives.
Growing up in the Chicago suburbs in the early 2000’s I had more freedom than kids today, however, not nearly as much freedom as this writer talks about. I could walk to the park and explore the small amount of woods by my house but that was about it. The main problem I see with children today is a lack in any interest to leave the house at all. Why would you want to go outside when you have access to an iPad and the World Wide Web, however this type of technology may prove to be more detrimental to the developing brain than we might think. Electronics stimulate our brains so much it’s like living at an amusement park. If that kind of excitement and stimulation becomes ones norm, anything below that becomes boring and can lead to more problems within the child. This kind of extreme stimulation can effect teenagers and adults too. Parents should limit their child’s access to electronics at a young age so they can learn how to stimulate themselves and increase the use of their own imagination. Kids should be free to explore the outdoors, get dirty, and experience things firsthand.
I would say that my childhood was pretty free despite being the first born. I had my share of adventures and exploration, meanwhile my brothers were a bit more supervised. It seems like now we have so much technology to track down children, that we don’t really let them live, and explore for themselves. The rush I would get when I’d go with my cousins to the nearest general store without our parents knowing, was indescribable. We felt like we owned the place when we walked in. Although the store was only a block away, it made us feel grown up, and it saddens me that my brothers won’t get to experience it. There is such thing as protection, but overprotection is what causes a child to feel like a prisoner, and makes them want to rebel even more. We should stop coddling so many of these kids, and let them experience the world without having mom or dad to hold your hand through all of it.
Growing up on a one-way street in a small neighborhood let my sister and I have childhood of running up and down the street and pretending that we were stuck in an avalanche in the winters. In the summer, once our feet were outside we wouldn’t go inside unless it got too hot or to eat. As we got older, my sister and I started riding our bikes to the beach by ourselves and this creek we discovered at the edge of our town.
My childhood was free. My parents checked up on us every hour or so, to ask us if we want to eat something and if they wanted to play catch or something with us. I never had the experience of my mom or dad constantly watching over me. Although the author’s childhood and mine were very different. Living on an island for the summer without electricity would bring those kinds of adventures. Your childhood freedom depends on where you live and your surroundings. In a small town, kids might be able to enjoy all aspects of nature. While in a city, kids might be more restrained.
Of course, I would love to wander on an island by myself. But, I am also grateful for my childhood. As I rewatch old home videos, I see how having a big back yard and a beach nearby pushes me to travel and wanting to get outside more than I often can.
1
@Priya Patel I loved my one-way street in my small neighborhood as well. Once you are free to do whatever you want, searching and exploring the world's nooks and crannies is incredible. As I lived in Albany New York, I knew everyone in my small enclave. They were my friends and buddies. My mom like yours wouldn't check up on my that often but that wasn't always the case. My mom just wanted to make sure I was safe. There were some areas that are really dangerous to be around. However, I am so glad that my mom gave me the opportunity to have freedom instead of sheltering me. I know that everyone's situation isn't equal but I think that children need and deserve a little bit of freedom. Look where we are now.