We have cases where a Mom let her 9 year old go the park alone and the Mother was jailed and the child taken away. Seriously. (Link above). There's another case of "Free Range Parents" getting their kids kidnapped by the police. (I use some hyperbole here because I would feel like that if it were my children. I'd be insane.) (Linked above too). Why is this happening? Why are you only a good parent if you're a helicopter Mom hovering over your children until their 18. NO WAY.
If my children don't learn consequences they will never learn anything. They MUST learn to get up themselves when they fall. They MUST learn how to be away from Mommy and Daddy for a time. I think "Free Range Parenting" is a bit extreme but when I was 8, 9, and 10 I ran ALL over my neighborhood. Alone. My parents didn't know where I was, I was outside! I'm only 23, this wasn't that long ago. Now, if we see a kid alone it's "ohh that poor child." Now, when I see kids under 8 alone at the park, I kinda wonder- and I wouldn't let K at age 6 alone in the park that's less than 2 blocks away. However, as he ages- yeah, he'll be okay.
We're throwing balance out the window here. We have parents who have children and they aren't parenting. They're providing food, shelter, and clothing but they aren't parenting. It takes a village. We aren't coming around parents who are young and showing them how to be great parents. We are as a society not moving into a good place. I know so many young Moms who had children unexpectedly and think parenting is just feeding, clothing, at yelling at your kids and making sure they take 3 selfies with them a day- then they're a devoted Mom. NO! That's not how this works. If we don't figure out how to communicate with those who are parents right now, and come around and help them find that balance. We're going to end up with a generation of adults who need their hands held at the work place. Who don't know how to work. Who are so afraid to fail they can't do anything. That is terrifying. These will also be the people around you who vote- or dear God- who don't vote because no one can hold their hand in there!!!!!
We need thinkers, artists, laborers, and inventors. We need people who push. Who can conquer. That's not going to happen if we don't do it and we don't raise children who see it. I'm a 23 year old Mom. I don't have all the answers and I'm still learning at this myself. I'm not super-Mom. I am making a lot of mistakes and have made them. However, I'm trying and I'm not going to get better unless I'm aware and I keep trying. My Mother was 36 when I was born, she just kept trying and I think she was an amazing Mom. She still made mistakes. However, we can't just think it's acceptable to feed, cloth, spoil, and scream at our children. We have do to better than this. We have to find balance.
SO- it takes a village right? I would love to get young Mommies together who want to rear up strong children. Who want to talk about parenting, how we can do it better, and talking about our fears, and ways we can create strong, amazing Mommies! Who's with me?