Let The Kiddos Have The Run Of The Place And Don't Sweat It

An airplane parent? Yes! Helicopter? No!

On Oct. 12 I read Pamela Druckerman's op-ed A cure for Hyper-Parenting.

I liked hearing about how the phenomena of helicopter parenting is not confined to Portland, or even the US. The industrialized world seems to have been bitten by the bug, all except France, that is.

The article had several salient points. Here are three I found memorable:

• A Dutch father of three told me about his Buddhist-inspired approach: total commitment to the process, total equanimity about the outcome.

• Don’t worry about overscheduling your child. Kids who do extracurriculars have higher grades and self-esteem than those who don’t, among many other benefits, says a 2006 overview in the Society for Research in Child Development’s Social Policy Report. “Of greater concern,” it noted, “is the fact that many youth do not participate at all.”

 

• Most parenting crises are caused by exhaustion. Force yourself to observe the same nighttime rituals as your toddler: bath, book, bed. When you feel an adult tantrum approaching, give yourself a timeout.  

 
 
 
.