We’re raising a Generation of Pussies. Kids don’t need supervision 100% of the time. They need to be sent outside to play and told “Don’t come back inside until lunch time (or dinner time)”.
Parents shouldn’t set up play dates. They should encourage their kids to go to the playground, introduce themselves to kids on the street and occasionally drag the kid with them when they (the parents) are visiting with their own adult friends who have kids. Let the kids figure out how to make friends.
Homework is the kid’s responsibility – not the parents. If the kid doesn’t do it, let him suffer the consequences.
Kids should be taught to clean up after themselves. They should help with chores like dish washing, laundry, vacuuming, lawn mowing, trash collection, snow shoveling and tidying up.
Kids should be allowed to fail. They should learn how to negotiate with bullies. They should occasionally get punched in the face or ostracized when they mouth off to their peers.
Kids should be allowed to be bored. If they complain that they are bored, assign them a chore (especially cleaning). They will quickly learn how to entertain themselves and deal with boredom.
I coddled my own step-kids too much. I did so for two reasons:
- I overcorrected in response to my own childhood that was filled with chaos and inattention.
- I deferred to my wife because they were her children. I believed she had the ultimate decision making authority regarding how we raised them.
We gave the kids a lot of love and attention, which I do not regret. But in hindsight, I think we did not prepare them for adulthood as well as we could have because we cushioned and shielded them so much.
And, I spent way too many years doing homework and catering to their every whim needlessly. I do regret that.
Kids are resilient. Humans are resilient. We learn from our mistakes if we’re allowed to have them.
Let the children make them while they are young and the consequences aren’t very high.