Resilience Parenting on Let Grow
We are delighted and honored for our story to have been included on Let Grow with Lenore Skenazy, founder and author of Free Range Kids!
About Let Grow
At Let Grow, we believe in kids. We believe they are smart, strong and at least as capable as their parents were at their age.
So why does society insist on bubble-wrapping them? Why are we encouraged to protect them from even the slightest physical or mental discomfort? Why don’t we trust them to do anything safely or successfully on their own?
Because of the twin fears stalking today’s parents: Either their kids will be snatched by a demonic clown… or they won’t get into Harvard.
But in fact, treating today’s kids as physically and emotionally fragile is bad for their future, and our country’s. With an unpredictable and rapidly changing economy ahead, kids need to be flexible, creative problem-solvers. They can’t solve their problems if adults are always right there, solving them first!
That’s why Let Grow is creating a new path for parents, schools, and America itself — a path back to letting kids have some adventures, develop more independence, and grow resilient. Let Grow asserts that:
- Kids aren’t fragile, they are “anti-fragile” — built not just to withstand some challenges, but to grow stronger once they do.
- The world is not more dangerous today than in decades past. In fact, America is at a 50-year crime low.
- Doing a little less for our kids is not negligent or lazy. It is a vote of confidence in them.
The winners in business, love, and life are comfortable with a bit of risk, and able to deal with disappointment (even the lack of a trophy). They listen, argue, work things out. They are open to change. They pivot.
They are future-proof.
At Let Grow, we recognize the enormous pressure to hold our kids close. The media and marketplace love to scare us all. And yet, in our hearts, we know that something is wrong.
Always helping our kids isn’t always helping them.
It’s time to start trusting kids to make their way in the world. As adults, our job has always been to prepare the next generation for the path and then…
Let Grow.