117. Normalizing Independence in Children with Lenore Skenazy

As educators, you know that kids need independence. And yet, many our youth graduate from high school having never had to take responsibility for getting themselves up on time, fixing themselves a meal, or scheduling an appointment on their own.

Our kids are being raised in a bubble where parents (and sometimes educators) do it all for them, for fear kids might fail at something.

We’re doing our kids a disservice if we don’t back off and give them the power and independence they need to live a full life. That’s exactly what this week’s guest, Lenore Skenazy, did back in 2008--and received backlash for.

But that one action, allowing her 9-year-old to ride the subway alone, sparked the idea for a nonprofit and school initiatives that are helping kids across the globe grow into the independent individuals they should be.

Listen in to why she allowed her kids more independence than many and how educators can not only get involved but encourage parents to do the same. 

After her column "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone" created a media firestorm, Lenore Skenazy founded the book, blog, and movement, “Free-Range Kids.” She has appeared everywhere from The Today Show to The Daily Show, and hosted the reality show World’s Worst Mom. Now she is president of Let Grow, the nonprofit making it easy, normal and legal to give kids the independence they need to grow into capable, happy adults. Let Grow’s two main school initiatives are The Let Grow Project (kids get the homework assignment, “Go home and do something new, on your own!”) and The Let Grow Play Club (schools stay open for mixed-age free play. Adults don’t organize the games or solve the spats). All the implementation guides are free here. Lenore lives in New York City with her husband and beloved computer. Her kids have flown the coop.

• [2:40] - The uproar around letting a child ride the subway alone
• [4:19] - The birth of free-range kids
• [5:25] - Moving from trusting kids to a new generation we hover over
• [6:08] - Teachable moments don’t always include a teacher present
• [11:50] - If kids aren’t doing something just for fun, you have kids doing things for a coach and not themselves
• [13:02] - We’re not just going to change minds; we need to change behavior
• [14:47] - The culture is the hamster wheel 
• [15:51] - Free and easy ways to give kids back their freedom
• [18:45] - The benefit of boredom and free play 
• [21:39] - No device rules
• [27:15] - What classroom teachers can do to support play
• [30:35] - Our kids are supposed to carry on when we’re not there
• [32:50] - What happens when we let kids become independent too late
• [34:30] - Turbo Time
• [37:48] - Lenore’s Magic Wand
• [38:48] - Maureen’s Takeaways 

• Email Lenore
• The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
• The Special Value of Children’s Age-Mixed Play by Peter Gray
• Ido in Autismland by Ido Kedar
• Let Grow
• Let Grow Play Club
• Let Grow Teacher Resources
• Email Maureen

• Maureen’s TEDx: Changing My Mind to Change Our Schools

• The Education Evolution
• Facebook: Follow Education Evolution
• Twitter: Follow Education Evolution
• LinkedIn: Follow Education Evolution
• EdActive Collective
• Maureen’s book: Creating Micro-Schools for Colorful Mismatched Kids

• Micro-school feature on Good Morning America
• The Micro-School Coalition
• Facebook: The Micro-School Coalition
• LEADPrep