IRONY ALERT!
@FoodieScience, author of the great "Hunt, Gather, Parent," sent Rosy, 7, out to ride her bike...and the COPS BROUGHT HER HOME.
Here's part of the extraordinary interview Michaeleen Doucleff did with
@JonHaidt:
MD: How do you give children more independence when our law enforcement, our neighborhood and our communities aren't used to it?
JH: Parents need to act collectively:
Step 1: We need to change laws in states to make it explicit that giving your kids independence cannot be taken as evidence of neglect on its own. We've already passed that law in eight states [Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Virginia, Connecticut, Illinois and Montana]. It's being considered in many others.
Step 2: We then have to change group-level norms. And we can do that with what's called the Let Grow Experience. You encourage your elementary school administrators to download the materials from Let Grow [a nonprofit organization that Haidt co-founded to foster childhood independence]. That material gives teachers instructions for assigning kids a specific type of homework. Teachers tell children, "Go home, talk with your parents and find something ...you've never been allowed to do before. Something you think you can do by yourself."
MD: Like going to the store on their bike a few blocks away?
JH: Exactly. Children agree with parents on what the task is. And then the child does this type of assignment once a month for six months.
The brilliant part of this challenge is that it changes the norms. Before you know it, it's normal to see an 8-year-old carrying a quart of milk. It's normal to see a 9-year-old on a bicycle — that's how you change the norms.
READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW HERE. INCLUDES LINK FOR YOU TO A "KID LICENSE" FOR YOUR OWN KIDS:
npr.org/sections/health-shot…