Hi Folks,
This is the last posting we will send up from Tucson! Very soon I’ll pack up some office stuff, some clothes, some dogs, and point the car north! I’ll make a stop in Des Moines to pick up our awesome Kitchen Manager, BILL MILLER, and arrive at camp the next day. WE ARE SO EXCITED TO GET THERE! The snow has been melting steadily…and thankfully. It won’t look like summer up there for a while, but we don’t mind. We just can’t wait to be at camp!
In this post you’ll find:
IT OCCURS TO ME…
There’s an emerging term making news lately. “Free Range Parenting.” Have you heard about it? It’s a movement that resulted in a law being passed last month in Utah. This new law protects parents from charges of negligence if they allow their kids to do certain activities without adult supervision. What sorts of activities? Things like letting their kids “walk, run, or bike to and from school” among others.
An article in the Washington Post states, “Under the law, state child-welfare authorities can no longer take children away from their parents if their kids are caught doing those various activities alone, as long as their kids are adequately fed, clothed and cared for.” This approach to facilitating independence and accountability is what parents a generation ago referred to as “parenting.”
Utah State Sentator Lincoln Fillmore said, “We want kids to be able to learn how to navigate the world so when they’re adults they’re fully prepared to handle things on their own.” Think this gentleman is available this summer? We may have a spot available on our counseling staff!
In 2015, parents of two kids, a 10 year old and 6 year old, allowed them to walk alone from school and a neighborhood park to their home in Silver Spring, MD. On two occasions the kids were picked up by police and the parents were charged with child neglect. In both incidents, the parents were ultimately cleared of wrong doing by Child Protective Services. This family supports a style of parenting which encourages childhood independence and exploration. So it seems the pendulum is indeed beginning to swing in this direction…a direction we wholeheartedly support and encourage others to get behind.
The children’s mother, Danielle Meitiv, said, “The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had — basically an old-fashioned childhood. I think it’s absolutely critical for their development — to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency.”
On all counts, in spite of what our fears and anxieties as adults may lead us to believe, she is factually 100% correct. Crimes against children have dropped dramatically in the past 40 years. We may hear about them more because we live in a 24 hour news cycle and such stories are horrifying . But there’s no denying the fact they happen far less frequently than they used to.
As parents, teachers, counselors, and mentors, we have one primary and sacred job.
That job is NOT just to protect our children.
That job is NOT just to shelter our children.
That job IS to RAISE our children.
Of course there are times when protection and sheltering are warranted along the way. If we are so focused on that, however, we will certainly stumble (at best) in achieving the ultimate goal. That must be guiding children into a capable and confident adulthood. As parents and counselors, we must have the courage to get out of the way, allow our kids to take risks, to fail, to get back up, and to realize their own abilities. Call it “Free Range Parenting,” call it “Parenting.” As long as we’re setting our kids up for success, it doesn’t matter how we label it.
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YO PARENTS:
BRAVO TO OUR MAY BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS!
Next month we get to stand up and sing our birthday wishes!!
Eli Garber – 05/01, Adam Wasserman – 05/02, Felix Chaoulideer – 05/03, Dylan Port – 05/03, Jack Silver – 05/04, Jackson Turner – 05/06, Drew Cushing – 05/07, Emma Cohen – 05/08, Alfredo Kuri – 05/12, Leo Sclamberg – 05/12, Sam Cassels – 05/13, Jacob Kline – 05/13, Lucas Arora – 05/14, Oliver Arora – 05/14, Corrie Hitchens – 05/15, Timofey Voronin – 05/15, Max Herr – 05/17, Joseph Lourie – 05/17, William Adelman – 05/18, Tyler Borstein – 05/18, Eddie Tepper – 05/18, Myles Herr – 05/19, Akil Dickerson – 05/20, Ben Ellis – 05/20, Ben Goss – 05/20, Ben Schachter – 05/20, Ben Wright – 05/20, Jerry Gutierrez – 05/21, Carlos Saenz – 05/21, Jake Hoffman – 05/22, James Lay – 05/22, Jack Van Ooyen – 05/23, Jacob Elias – 05/27, Akanksha Khanna – 05/27, Rich Mc Gowan – 05/27, Owen French – 05/28, Milan Stag – 05/30, Lucas Levy – 05/31.
COMING SOON…
Our next post will come to you from camp, and will update you on campers and staff members who have joined us in the last month.
Benches up,
