would you consider your self a free range parent? what do you feel are the pros and cons of this method of parenting?
Tags: Free, Opinion, Parenting, Range, What, Your
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February 16th, 2010 at 4:25 PM
i dont get it. although i dont get many of the various phrases used to describe different parenting methods. personally – i cant imagine only following one way of parenting. i also cant imagine only following one source for parenting. whether that be free range, attachment, dr sears, donald duck, whatever.
in terms of my opinion? eh. if it works for them and their kids – go for it.
(as a complete side note – many on that board, need a lesson in sarcasm and to not take things quite so literally. in my response i didnt even mean what i said word for word. it was for effect, as a point. i figured that would be clear. guess i need to learn my audience better next time)
February 16th, 2010 at 6:16 PM
I actually am trying to understand it…
I think that lax parenting in my generation ending up producing many social problems with the children of my era, so parents went overboard trying to right the wrongs with the next generation by being uber-protective.
Now, we are trying to right the wrongs of parental uber-protection with ……i don’t know what.
My own opinion is that there must be a middle ground, and I am trying to find it.
I also hold firm in my belief that if children didn’t need parental guidance and structure, they would have come out of the womb already being adults.
February 16th, 2010 at 7:09 PM
People may harp on those of us who aren’t overprotective all they want, but I do not value their opinion unless they have tried letting go a little and giving up the neuroses of modern parenting themselves. Their fear is blinding them to reasonable assessments of the world.
I don’t believe sheltering and overprotecting does a favour to anyone. It stresses out the kid, it stresses out the parents, it cripples the spirit with fear and it denies a child opportunities to learn and grow.
I also have to say that the sheltering and overprotective parenting that goes on today is mostly based on media hype and the culture of fear we live in, not on reality. The world is no more dangerous than it was 20 years ago. People just think it is because they’ve become less social and more into this 24/7 alert culture. If they stepped outside their suburban boxes once in a while and socialised like adults did when they were growing up, maybe they’d see that the world isn’t as mean and scary as they think. You have to be realistic about your fears and the measures you go to to protect yourself and your family against those reality based fears. Not leaving your child alone with Uncle Lester who you haven’t heard from since you were 5 and who seems all too eager to babysit is reasonable and smart. Thinking that everyone with a Y chromosome is a paedophile and that they should never be talked to or trusted is not reasonable.
I’m 24 and grew up ‘free range’ right on the last generation of when kids were generally free range. By the time my sister was born when I was 13, it was pretty much extinct. We didn’t call it free range back then though. We called it being a normal, healthy kid.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:16 PM
i consider myself a reasonable parent.
i think most people would consider me pretty free-range.
for all her failure to get sahm’s sense of humor, i still found lenore skenazy’s book hilarious and full of wisdom.
the pros are that we’re ultimately supposed to be raising adults, not children. the cons are that our hair may turn white along the way.
February 16th, 2010 at 10:32 PM
last summer, when my daughter was 1 1/2, was the first time i noticed the positive effects of free range parenting. my boyfriend would take her to the park everyday for an hour and a half, while they were waiting for me to get off work. within 2 weeks i noticed she was always babbling and trying to talk to everyone and everything, she seemed extremely confident, she walked with a spring in her step. she was interested in trying everything, she seemed like she blossomed overnight. she loved to show me around her park, how to use the playground and stuff.
what my boyfriend did was basically show her how to climb different parts of the playground, how to slide, etc. then her let her run free. of course he was watching her but he wasn’t holding her hand or telling her no the entire time like some moms. he let her run into the fields if she felt like it, venture over to the sand pit, check out the pond, chase the birds. he would put her on the swings and push her only if she asked him too.
she wants to do everything herself, she’s always asking questions, she hardly ever cried or was irritable or cranky. it made her a more positive and intelligent person.
i hope to use this method with other activities we do, we live in an apartment so she cant just go outside and walk around any time she wants to, but she is allowed to anything she wants around the apartment. as long as she’s not trying to stick the keys into the power outlets, or taking sharp knives out of the washer. she can do it. if she wants my huge cup full of water, she can have it if she says please. and if she ends up dumping it on her shirt, that’s her prerogative. she’ll know not to do it next time.
(the park she goes to has like 5 different parts, the big kid playground for 6+, the toddler playground for 2+, the infant area for crawlers, the swing area, and the sand pit. its a beautiful park next to a man made pond.)
February 17th, 2010 at 1:51 AM
I love the absolutely ridiculous questions asked on here. What the hell? Parenting is no “one way”. Free range, lmao. People LOVE to put a label on everything that has to do with parenting and children. Raise your kid, let them learn, while protecting them, and encouraging them. There doesn’t have to be a name or a label to parenting.
February 17th, 2010 at 8:39 AM
Had never heard of it before coming to this board, but quickly realized I am totally a free-range parent. I am all for it. I think the kids learn the art of resourcefulness, which as an adult, has made life much easier for me. I can get through anything and nothing weighs me down too much because I know I can always find a way to help myself.
I was raised free-range and I think it served me quite well.
February 17th, 2010 at 12:07 PM
It is a very silly term, but I am agreed to the premise of it and of giving children the necessary freedom to grow and learn without the insanity and stress of too much fear. They will never learn anything if they do not experience anything on their own. Being permitted to explore and experience for themselves rather than in only strictly monitored and controlled situations teaches resourcefulness and independence.
February 17th, 2010 at 4:26 PM
I’m sort of so-so. I increase her freedom as she shows her maturity. Saturday I let her go down to the hospital cafeteria alone. It was a little thing, but she was so happy about being given the freedom and responsibility.
The day will come when she doesn’t want me around. I need to be sure she is prepared to handle what comes her way without me.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:33 PM
I am a free range parent, I believe it is the only way to raise children to understand the environment around them and the consequences of their actions.
February 17th, 2010 at 5:57 PM
I’m all for free range. The meat is much tastier.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:22 PM
What is free range parenting? I have no idea what that means, lol.
February 18th, 2010 at 1:23 AM
What is it, first of all?