Factory Farmed Kids
KMG and I were having a chat about the way children are raised presently. He sent along an article from the Daily Mail,
When George Thomas was eight he walked everywhere.
It was 1926 and his parents were unable to afford the fare for a tram, let alone the cost of a bike and he regularly walked six miles to his favourite fishing haunt without adult supervision.
Fast forward to 2007 and Mr Thomas’s eight-year-old great-grandson Edward enjoys none of that freedom.
He is driven the few minutes to school, is taken by car to a safe place to ride his bike and can roam no more than 300 yards from home. daily mail
It’s a depressing read.
My partner and - in theory - free range kid raiser (I say in theory because as the boys are six and three the issue has yet to come to a head) pointed me to this lovely article,
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930’s 40’s, 50’s, 60’s and 70’s !!
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant. They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn’t get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking. As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. the silly wagon
On the one hand I am delighted we now know enough to get rid of the lead based paint and I think car seats are smart; but the point is generally well taken.
The right to roam, the ability of kids to engage with the world, is worth a bit of risk. The problem is that with tiny families of one and two children, parents have a huge incentive and the time to micro manage that engagement. Which means children have lost several degrees of the freedom which makes childhood so amazing.
Written by jay on June 17th, 2007 with
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