The Kids are Owl Right

Lenore Skenazy on Mar 16, 2023

While at first, he could only get about four blocks before tuckering out, soon observers saw him flying farther and farther afield.

And while there was great concern that he wouldn't know the first thing about how to catch his own food, just days into his freedom he was coughing up the tangle of rodent fur and bones owls can't digest. Which meant he was digesting the other parts. Which meant he was a fully functioning hunter.

Turns out all that Flaco needed to prove himself was an opening -- literally. And now, he's a Free-Range Bird beloved by his city.

The lesson for us all?

I spend my days trying to convince zookeepers --er, parents, teachers, counselors, coaches -- that a childhood of 24/7 supervision is new, and stunting. Love and attention are necessary for kids. But constant adult hovering? No.

We all know this from our own childhoods: As much as we learned at school and at home, we also learned so much about how to deal with the world by... dealing with the world. Climbing trees. Getting lost. Solving problems. Making friends.

Those skills await awakening in all kids, but that means giving them some unsupervised, unstructured time. Free time in childhood is not a luxury. It's not wasted. It's not fallow. It's crucial for child development.

On Feb. 16, the zoo stopped trying to catch Flaco. In just two weeks he'd learned how to battle the elements and dazzle New York. He'd stunned those who loved him dearly but had underestimated him all those years and overestimated the odds against him.

If we want our kids to dazzle us with their abilities and ebullience, we, too, have to remember they come pre-programmed to explore and figure things out. Our job is to love them, hug them, open the cage.

And watch them soar.

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Lenore Skenazy is president of Let Grow, a contributing writer at Reason.com, and author of "Has the World Gone Skenazy?" To learn more about Lenore Skenazy (Lskenazy@yahoo.com) and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.