The themes of "over parenting", "helicopter parenting", and how different parenting is now (as compared to when I was a kid) have come up in multiple conversations of late. I remember being gone for HOURS at a time starting when I was pretty little. Playing in empty lots, running around with the neighbor kids, going to the park, walking up the dry creek bed and hoping there wasn't a flash flood in the mountains that blasted down and washed us away before we knew what had happened (because that happened sometimes and we all had stories about hearing the loud rush of water as it tumbled boulders downstream), catching weird worm-like creatures and pollywogs in the pools left behind after a rain, I bet our parents knew where we were considerably less than half the time.



Not knowing where your kid is now is considered neglectful. Letting the neighborhood kids wander in a pack to discover their own entertainment, social structure, and consequences is considered unsafe (it was always unsafe--- life is unsafe) and letting kids be unsafe is considered neglectful. If parents don't read to, do crafts with, make complex social arrangements for, and schedule every available moment with "enriching" activites-- soccer, dance, playdates, music-- for their children, it is considered poor parenting.
Of course there are safety concerns that are valid. Of course enriching a child's life is important. Of course school can't teach a child all they need to know about life or even academics.

So where's the balance?

I find this article interesting, I'm Done Making My Kid's Childhood Magical by Bunmi Laditan

While I don't agree with every article this author writes, I do find this one quite worth reading. Here is another link to the same article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bunmi-laditan/im-done-making-my-kids-childhood-magical_b_5062838.html