Free-Range Kids

Now that I have a daughter, I read the mandatory child-rearing books. This is one I particularly like. I cannot say I agree with everything, but I do agree with the premise - that kids are too restricted by rules, parents and fear. To this end, I am trying to raise my daughter to be smart, intuitive, adaptable and fearless (or at least less fearful).

FREE-RANGE KIDS primarily uses a concept called risk management - know what the risk is and how significant it may be. Don't be afraid to take the chances where necessary, know how to mitigate the possibilities of failure, and know how to learn from your failures. Life is not without risk, but if you completely avoid it you will succeed far less often than you would like.

It will always be a challenge because people will insist that it is a different world, (It is in that there is more of everything, but not because anything fundamental has changed.) or that it just isn't safe anymore, (see the above more not different line) or that kids just need to be protected.
Of course kids need to be protected, but by arming them with knowledge, insight, and other tools to make the right decisions or how to learn from the wrong ones, they can help to protect themselves. We all want happy, healthy kids, but smothering them will not help them grow into fully-realized adults.

I cannot guarantee that my daughter will be the person I want her to become, but I can try to help her become the best person she is able to be. Thus I will try not to overschedule her, hover over her every action and try to trust her to grow and learn and do the right thing.

I think most parents should read this book and learn a little themselves about how to manage the risk and enjoy their children's childhood.