Take your children to the park on May 22
This Saturday, May 22, has been declared “Take Your Children to the Park … and Leave Them There” Day by Lenore Skenazy, a mom and author of Free-Range Kids and owner of the blog of the same name. In the name of encouraging creativity and activity, Skenazy encourages parents of school-age children to let their children play in the park or roam the neighborhood, unsupervised.
While the “holiday” has gotten some media attention from outlets such as the New York TImes, it’s not surprisingly controversial in mommy circles. (Just read some of the comments on the NYT piece.)
My kids are only five and three, and there’s no way I’ll be leaving them in the park unsupervised. But I don’t think that means I’m limiting their creativity in any way. Actually, I’m usually chatting with another mom friend on the sidelines while the kids roam and play. On a recent trip to the park with Little Boy and another three-year-old friend, the other mom and I overheard the boys building a “clubhouse” and making bows and arrows out of sticks and rocks. None of this imaginary play was directed by us; we were busy chatting.
So while I may not agree that the important thing is sending kids out on their own, sans adult supervision, I wholeheartedly agree to going to the park (or the backyard, or the forest, or the garden) is a valuable, even vital, thing to do with your kids. And I hope you’ll join other moms across the country on Saturday as we encourage our kids to get outside and roam.
What do you think about free-range kids? Is it ok to send kids out unsupervised? Will you and/or your kids join the movement in getting outside on May 22?
