'The Anxious Generation' Has the Worst of Both Worlds

Lenore Skenazy on Mar 14, 2024

4 -- Give kids back some independence and free play.

To do that, he says, schools and parents should look to the organizations working to promote a more play-filled, independence-building childhood. Specifically:

"One that I co-founded, at LetGrow.org, suggests a variety of simple (free) programs for parents or schools, such as play club (schools keep the playground open at least one day a week before or after school, and kids sign up for phone-free, mixed-age, unstructured play as a regular weekly activity) and the Let Grow Experience (a series of homework assignments in which students--with their parents' consent--choose something to do on their own that they've never done before, such as walk the dog, climb a tree, walk to a store, or cook dinner)."

Let Grow's ideas work for individuals as well as schools. Our at-home version of The Let Grow Experience lists even more real-world things kids could try:

Eat a meal outside, go to the post office, do the laundry, take care of someone younger, make something, bake something, wash something, paint something or just go outside and come back in an hour. Really -- our culture has almost forgotten our kids are human. There's plenty they are built to do, no matter the kid or the neighborhood!

Phones and social media present a can of worms the size of Wichita. No one denies it. But kids were drooping even before the first iPhone as they spent less and less time having adventures, helping their parents, playing with friends and roaming around. To raise a less Anxious Generation, writes Haidt:

"It would be a mistake to overlook this fourth norm. If parents don't replace screen time with real-world experiences involving friends and independent activity, then banning devices will feel like deprivation, not the opening up of a world of opportunities."

To open the world, just open the door. Tell the kids to be home by supper.

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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 Web page at www.creators.com.