LET GROW

By Trishna Buch
I remember my childhood fondly. I remember riding
my bikes to the woods with my friends and exploring
around. I remember playing tag with my friends in our
backyards and playing baseball games in the subdivision
streets. I remember walking to a friend’s house and
spending all day there, after simply telling my mother
“I’m going to so-and-so’s house!” And, along with all
of this, I learned how to solve problems that I had. Of
course, in many cases, I did have help from my parents
in solving these problems; but—for the most part—my
parents had the attitude of “she needs to learn how to
solve her own problems.”
Unfortunately, life is quite different now from what
it was when I was a child. Based on my knowledge
that most of our readers are older than me, it’s safe to
assume that life is different now from what it was when
you were a child. One of these differences is that parents
are more prone to being overprotective. That’s not
to say that my parents weren’t overprotective—they still
are, in fact—but the simple fact is that, with the amount
of horrific acts taking place in the news, parents are
“holding their kids closer than ever.”
Along with being overprotective, there is the added
idea that this overprotection is preventing children from
being the resourceful and resilient young people they
are capable of being. The news is scaring parents to the
extent where they will not let their children be anywhere
without a trusted adult, and children are not able to
enjoy their childhoods the way we were able to. In addition
to this, children are now depending on their parents
and other adults in their lives to do everything for them.
The main idea of Let Grow, according to its website, is
to “promote a return to childhood without constant adult
oversight.” The aim of Let Grow is to show parents,
and other adults, that children need to learn how to be
thinkers and problem-solvers, because these skills are
necessary in their adult life. I had a chance to speak to
Lenore Skenazy, president of Let Grow, to learn more
about it.
Skenazy told me that, when her son was nine-yearsold,
“he asked me and my husband if we could take
him to a place he had never been before and let him
figure out his way home by himself.” After agreeing to
the request, Skenazy took her son to Bloomingdale’s
in New York City (where they lived) and invited him to
take the subway home. “When my son got home he was
levitating with excitement, and that was the catalyst for
getting everything started.” Word of her decision traveled
and, soon after, she was making appearances on
the Today Show, Fox News, NPR and MSNBC to defend
her decision.
Although Let Grow is a fairly new initiative, starting
only a few months ago, Skenazy has always seen
the importance of giving kids freedom. This is shown
through Free Range Kids which discusses how to raise
children who are self-reliant. Free Range Kids is a book,
blog and movement designed by Skenazy ten years
ago, who also goes around giving lectures discussing
the ideas and topics in the book. And this movement
has, in the past 10 years, continued to grow.
The people involved in Let Grow understand that it
may be difficult for parents to break away from their
overprotective natures and sense of doing everything
for their child. Therefore, to help out, they have created
several programs that will help further the push towards
their goal of returning to the childhood that most of us
grew up with. One of these programs is the Let Grow
Project. According to the organization’s website, the
Let Grow project is a school project which consists
of teachers giving their students an assignment—to
do one thing that they have not done before, but feel
ready to do. The only condition?
The entire project must be carried
out by children only. The
benefits of this project, according
to the website, include: parents
learning how to let go, children
learning how to be resourceful,
counselors seeing an increase in
maturity and more. The website
provides examples of Let Grow
projects which include making
dinner, waiting at the bus stop,
getting ice cream, organizing a
visit to a friend’s house, playing
in the park, making lunch and
more. You can see the entire list
by going online to letgrow.org/letgrow-
project/.
The people involved in Let
Grow understand why parents
are prone to holding their children
close. It’s due to the horrific acts
that happen in our world. It is
completely understandable that
parents, and adults, want to do
everything in their power to keep
children safe. But, according to
the Let Grow website, the crime
rate is down. In fact, according
to a post on the website
from October, “our crime rate is
back to what it was in 1963…
Pedestrian deaths are at a 30
year low. The 24/7 news cycle
has convinced us that kids are
never safe when in fact, there has
never been a safer time in human
history, according to Harvard’s
Stephen Pinker.”
Allowing kids to have a carefree
childhood, teaching them to
explore their independence and
helping them to be resourceful
is a team effort. This is why Let
Grow has created the Capable
Kids Communities, which is—in
its most basic terms—to support
children as they get out and
about in the community. Children
can do this by, for example, playing
outside at any hours, walking
to school and walking to a friend’s
house. And Let Grow discusses
ways all adults can be involved
in making their town a Capable
Kids Communities. For instance,
they ask law enforcement to “not
consider kids ‘neglected’ just
because they are outside on their
own” and ask health professionals
to “consider the real, long-term
dangers of sedentary behavior,
not just the potential for outdoor
injuries.” You can learn more
about Capable Kids Communities
at letgrow.org/capable-kids-communities-
project/.
Because helping children grow
is a team effort, so is Let Grow
itself. Along with Skenazy, other people involved in the
organization include Dan Shuchman, chairman of FIRE:
the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education; Peter
Gray, research professor at Boston College; Jon Haidt,
Thomas Cooley Professor of Ethical Leadership and
Tracy Tomasso, co-founder/former COO of Ypulse. To
learn more about each individual and the roles they play
at Let Grow, go online to letgrow.org/our-people/
And, in the process of developing a child’s independence
and problem solving skills, Let Grow has created
the After School Free Play program. This program
invites schools to put out play objects, such as balls and
jump ropes, in a gym or playground and let the children
have free reign. The website says that an adult should
be on hand to supervise, but they should not interfere
in the children’s play in any manner. The children need
to take charge of the entire play—from deciding which
game to play, organizing it and solving any problems.
According to the website, by organizing their own
games, children “learn social skills,” “learn to control
themselves to keep the game going”, “move around
more than they do in organized sports” and much more.
To learn more about this program go online to letgrow.
org/school-free-play/.
The bottom line is that the lessons we instill in children
today, are what will carry them throughout their
life. If the adults in a child’s life hover over them and
never let them do anything for themselves, then that
child will depend on people well into their adulthood.
Childhood is the perfect opportunity to teach children
skills of independence. Let’s encourage our children to
go outside. Let’s show them that they are capable of
anything they put their mind to. Let’s help them become
problem-solvers. Letting children play not only helps
with the aforementioned but, according to the website, it
also reduces the risk of childhood obesity and improves
executive functions. So let’s all make a pledge to let
kids grow. To learn more about Let Grow you can go to
their website at letgrow.org/. You can also learn more
about Free Range Kids at www.freerangekids.com/ and
www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/free-rangekids-
parents-mike-lee-120435.