30 Of The Funniest And Most Relatable Tweets From Parents Who Were Just Trying To Get Through November

Oh, how times have changed. Encouraging kids to be more independent was far more valued in the past than it is today. Nowadays, some parents are constantly on edge. Exhausted. And all because they feel like they have to keep an eye on their kids 24/7. Bored Panda wanted to get childhood independence and resilience expert Skenazy’s opinion on how parents can take a step back and reduce their oversight.

“When my mom waved goodbye as off I walked to kindergarten by myself, all the other moms in our town—and our country!—were doing the same,” the president of Let Grow and the founder of the Free-Range Kids movement shared with Bored Panda.

“A generation ago, it was still normal to trust your child out in the world. Today, that mindset has disappeared. Thanks to the 24/7 news cycle and rising incomes that have made it affordable to always place our kids in adult-supervised activities, taking our eyes OFF our kids has become abnormal.” The result, according to Skenazy is that parents are exhausted and kids are anxious.

We’re in a situation now where kids are “told they can’t handle ANYTHING without an adult right there!” Skenazy said that the only way for parents to finally relax is “to take the plunge.”

“That is: With another friend and THEIR kid, send your kids off to do something WITHOUT YOU: Ride their bikes, walk the dog, go to the store…anything YOU did as a kid. If you are in a seriously dangerous neighborhood, you can give them some new independence INSIDE—like having them make dinner, or babysit. But otherwise, send them out!”

This will lead to a newfound sense of independence, after your kids “come back, flushed and excited—or even a bit teary, because something went wrong.” But it’s not just your child who becomes independent: it’s you as a parent as well.

“Your fears will be replaced by pride in your spunky child. The dopamine hit of, ‘Look at my blossoming kid!’ cancels out the fear. And from now on, you will feel far more relaxed—and far more joyful—about your kid doing things on their own.”

Skenazy said that this approach really is that simple. “Trust me—I did an entire TV series, World’s Worst Mom, where I sat with terrified parents as I sent their kids outside to play, run errands, climb trees. Twelve of the 13 families became so relaxed after doing this just four times that they were UNRECOGNIZABLE. Because now they were happy!” she said.

“BOTH GENERATIONS felt happier and less stressed. Now a psychologist has started treating families with this same advice: Send your kids out to do something on their own. (Here’s a free home version.) As one mom wrote to me this week after she did exactly this—started sending her kid outside by himself even though SHE was worried and so was HE: ‘I am happy to share the millions of firsts and discoveries and victories that have followed in less than six months. But profound gratitude is the point of this email.’”

If you’d like some more information on the importance to ‘Let Grow’ by trusting your kids to do things on their own, you can visit Skenazy’s website, LetGrow.org. It’s a nonprofit promoting childhood independence. Meanwhile, teachers and educators might want to check out the free independence-building program that’s available for the whole class or school.