Children’s freedom to explore and why it is a vital part of growing up
Childhood and parenting norms have changed somewhat drastically over the past few decades. Parents have become more protective and as a result children are more dependent on adult supervision as they grow older. In her article, Hanna Rosin argues that children need to have freedom during their growing process, in terms of facing certain risks and coming to terms with, and even eliminating, their fears. In being overprotective, parents run the risk of raising co-dependent adults. With the help of Rosin’s article, this paper will explain why it is important to let children do things on their own once in a while.
Rosin’s article begins at ‘The Land’; an unconventional playground constructed with recycled materials only. There are no slides or swings, or any other objects normally found on playgrounds. Children are left to play and move things around as they please, and the employed “playworkers” only intervene if there is a serious risk of someone getting hurt. The Land was built by landscape architect Lady Marjory Allen in the 1940s to encourage children to face various risks and then overcome them on their own, “That, […], is what builds self-confidence and courage.” (Allen in Rosin, p. 3).
One major topic in Rosin’s …show more content…
By not letting their children come face-to-face with certain dangers or challenges, parents put them at risk of becoming co-dependent and irresponsible adults. Parents need to force their children to step out of their comfort zone every now and then, because that is what adulthood is all about. Children who are allowed to wander off on their own and are away from the eyes of their parents are less likely to develop symptoms of separation-anxiety when they are older (Sandseter in Rosin, p.
Childhood and parenting norms have changed somewhat drastically over the past few decades. Parents have become more protective and as a result children are more dependent on adult supervision as they grow older. In her article, Hanna Rosin argues that children need to have freedom during their growing process, in terms of facing certain risks and coming to terms with, and even eliminating, their fears. In being overprotective, parents run the risk of raising co-dependent adults. With the help of Rosin’s article, this paper will explain why it is important to let children do things on their own once in a while.
Rosin’s article begins at ‘The Land’; an unconventional playground constructed with recycled materials only. There are no slides or swings, or any other objects normally found on playgrounds. Children are left to play and move things around as they please, and the employed “playworkers” only intervene if there is a serious risk of someone getting hurt. The Land was built by landscape architect Lady Marjory Allen in the 1940s to encourage children to face various risks and then overcome them on their own, “That, […], is what builds self-confidence and courage.” (Allen in Rosin, p. 3).
One major topic in Rosin’s …show more content…
By not letting their children come face-to-face with certain dangers or challenges, parents put them at risk of becoming co-dependent and irresponsible adults. Parents need to force their children to step out of their comfort zone every now and then, because that is what adulthood is all about. Children who are allowed to wander off on their own and are away from the eyes of their parents are less likely to develop symptoms of separation-anxiety when they are older (Sandseter in Rosin, p.