DO 316 - Free Range Parenting with Lenore Skenazy of Let Grow

One area where this podcast has turned its attention lately is the question of children, especially questions of schooling and parenting in The Age of the Machine. What follows is a conversation about free range parenting, and the importance of giving kids the freedom, outside the machine, to learn, grow and make mistakes.

I was lucky enough to have crossed paths with Lenore on Twitter The Everything App when she came across my viral post about my middle daughter’s “biker gang”:

I think my middle daughter is having the best summer of her childhood
She has this group of friends, they're all incoming 5th graders, and their moms and I have a big group chat going where a kid will ask their mom to say "anyone want to ride bikes" and then they start a little band of kids going house to house inviting others to play. Then they head to parks, to coffee shops, jump on the trampoline in their friends' yards.
One good thing though is that the moms are all in touch so even if the kids don't have phones or watches to communicate, we communicate with each other where they are/where they're headed.
They call it their biker gang.
My daughter has told me it is her favorite thing in the whole world, riding bikes with her friends. She says I'd rather do it than go to Disneyworld!
I asked her why and she said it's the freedom.
There is a certain age, I'd say something like grades 3 to 7, where it is essential kids get some independence. I think back to the times in my childhood where I was given some freedom to wander in those ages, and those are some of the best memories of my life.
It's so important we don't rob our kids of this. Make it happen by any means possible.

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Lenore is famous for letting her then 9 year old ride the subway in New York City alone. After teaching him how, she brought him to a designated spot and allowed him to find his way home. She was swiftly branded The Worst Mom in America.

Well, let all the Worst Moms unite!

In this episode we talk about the biker gang and her work in free range parenting which has now transformed into the Let Grow project which has all sorts of free materials for parents and teachers on building up confidence and responsibility in our kids.

Enjoy this episode, one of my favorites ever!