Kids Need to Take Risks!
I like many of my generation and generations before it remember growing up in a world where we were allowed and even sometimes encouraged to explore, test boundaries and maybe even have a little fun in the process. It seems in the world today this mentality has been lost. Parents are told more and more to put locks on cupboards and cabinets and constantly warned about the negative influences that exist outside the “safety zone” of their own home.
My questions are numerous such as: Why are we now a society living in fear? What will the impact be on the social interaction and social dynamics of generations to come? and Is this trend to blame for some of the lack of children’s ability to perform well in school?. It is a rather obvious observation for me that children are not as fragile as some “experts” and parents seem to think. As mentioned all you need to do to see this is review the methods used by generations passed when raising a child.
Parents of toddlers putting “child proof” locks on cupboards and gates in doorways is nothing more then a convince for the parent, or so it seems at first. By doing this you may solve the current issue of a child possibly injuring its self by getting into the cleaning supplies but in reality this child is trying to explore, understand and learn. What happened to actually watching the children and teaching them what is allowed and what is not? Why don’[t parents use and stick to telling their child things like “no don’t touch” and therefore solve the real issue of the child not knowing what it is and is not allowed to explore? It is my thought that the active roll of both parents in the workforce today may contribute to this. Parents return home from work and neither has the energy to fight with a toddler whom is set in his or her own way.
Children need to play and explore boundaries to help learn how things work, to help foster the existence of creativity as they age. By not being given such a chance to do seemingly “dangerous” things such as build ramps to jump bikes over rivers or climb the big oak tree, children will not learn the critical and creative thinking skills needed to thrive in both the educational arena and the next step known as a career.
If these kids are kept indoors more due to this “fear” parents seem to be living in they become sediment, this leads to obesity as we have seen in recent years. The other impact of being indoors so much is lack of face to face social interaction. Without this interaction it is hard to believe that a child would grow to be a well-adjusted, contributing member of society. These children seem to be becoming more disconnected with the community and instead using electronic communication to fill that void.
This brings me to the final question which has been plaguing me; “Why are we now a society living in fear?”. This is the one I have a really hard time coming up with an explanation for. It maybe due to the influence of some writers and editors whom focus on some of these issues or even the rise in the lack of peoples ability to think for themselves. Maybe even a lack of life experience. Whatever the reason however it is a cancer which is rapidly spreading and in my opinion needs to stop through proper education and a little ability to take responsibility for ones own offspring.
I would love to hear your opinions on this matter so please leave a comment if you have anything to add.
