Are parents over protective of their children?.
By thewriter
@thewriter (198)
June 12, 2008 9:01am CST
I just saw the news about a nine year old boy being allowed by his parents to walk home from a department store by himself through New York City. According to the news report the said boy had to walk two miles through busy areas full of shoppers, automobile traffic, and navigate the underground train. Apparently his journalist Mother has subsequently been labeled the worst Mum in the world. She said that parents tend to be over protective of kids.
Are parents these days too protective of their kids, or should we follow this Mother's example and let kids become more independent?
2 responses
@LouRhi (1502)
• Australia
12 Jun 08
No, children do not need to be encouraged to be independent in this manner. I live in a fairly small area and I don't think at 9 I would let my daughter walk 5 the minutes between home and school by herself. There are two roads that she needs to cross and they say children don't really have the capacity to always judge distance to cross roads until 12.
Children are a special gift that parents are given to guide, create and protect.
@thewriter (198)
•
12 Jun 08
I agree that children are such a precious gift and deserve the best parenting.
@spiderhunter (46)
• United States
12 Jun 08
What?! I nine year old unaccompanied in New York City. This woman must not have wanted her son to come home alive but it's not uncommon Parents these days are not nearly protective enough. I've seen too many small children taking the city busses where I live with no supervision, I hear of too many children being abused and slaughtered by non parents, and read too many stories of children dying in tragic accidents where the parent was out of the home. Of course parents in general are not even close to be protective enough. This is why streets are rampant in my town with gangs and schools are becoming demilitarized zones, because parents are not doing thier jobs in protecting and guiding their kids.
