Friday, November 27, 2009

I'm not suggesting this sort of thing

The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting

Actually, the backlash is fine. Helicopter parenting is just another form of abuse. Here's the heart of the article:
Dr. Stuart Brown, a psychiatrist and the founder of the National Institute for Play — who has a treehouse above his office — recalls in a recent book how managers at Caltech's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) noticed the younger engineers lacked problem-solving skills, though they had top grades and test scores. Realizing the older engineers had more play experience as kids — they'd taken apart clocks, built stereos, made models — JPL eventually incorporated questions about job applicants' play backgrounds into interviews. "If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being" in life, Brown has argued, "play is as fundamental as any other aspect.'' The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that the decrease in free playtime could carry health risks: "For some children, this hurried lifestyle is a source of stress and anxiety and may even contribute to depression." Not to mention the epidemic of childhood obesity in a generation of kids who never just go out and play.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1940395-3,00.html#ixzz0Y5xbN4YN

1 comment:

The probligo said...

Al, from the Time article...

Did you follow up on this?