THE OVERPROTECTED KID

Like most parents my age, I have memories of childhood so different from the way my children are growing up that sometimes I think I might be making them up, or at least exaggerating them. In my elementary-school years, my friends and I spent a lot of afternoons playing cops and robbers in two interconnected apartment garages, after we discovered a door between them that we could pry open. Once, when I was about 9, my friend Kim and I “locked” a bunch of younger kids in an imaginary jail behind a low gate.


http://www.theatlantic.com/features/archive/2014/03/hey-parents-leave-those-kids-alone/358631/

Really refreshing article!


The modern child's life style has changed so much that I guess parents, even though they know what is good and how it was in their days, they struggle to find a balance. And also, I guess it's more difficult to do this and easier to get paranoid in a city compared to the "other places" as they have more unnatural things, such as the lift, duchess more attractive distractions everywhere as in kids doing Nintendo or iPad in the parks...


We moved out of the island for this specific reason as quite frankly, I was just not able to cope with the pressure of having kids in the city. Here where we live now, my daughter who is not in Kindergarten yet, has learnt naturally by watching her older friends that when crossing the street, she must make sure that there is no car sound, she must listen to what the older kids tell her ( and yes, they do lock her up in jail and order her to wait until they come back and be forgotten) or they won't play with her, when he little brother tags along, she must take care of him. Some of the things the children do looks so advanced for her age and cruel but, I have learnt to bite my tongue and go get her when dinner time as 1. None of the other parents interfere with them 2. My children are really enjoying them although they whine such and such is not nice and 3. I can see the differrence in their contentment.


They have developed so many sense of safety and responsibility through hanging out with the older kids that was never accomplished by nagging or threatening. It has also made it easier as when I tell them off, they can connect to their send of safety and responsibility that nagging has become way easier.

Ow, sorry for the amount of misspells and not making sense words, I hate auto correct....

Very interesting, and I often think that this kind of playground is needed in Hong Kong, which in my opinion, is too overcrowded with indoor supposedly sterile (yet actually carrying more germs) playrooms. Having worked as a nanny here for a few years, I can't help but notice the obsession with 'germs' and 'cotton wooling' kids, who become far too dependent on their helpers. Obviously this is not true for the entire population, but I believe the percentage of parents willing to let their kids truly explore their independence in Hong Kong is not as high as it could be.


Belonging to expat clubs such as The Country Club, The AMC etc are great, but after a while, the kids start to get bored, as these indoor playrooms have little room for change on a regular basis, and as such, their minds are not challenged. The environment is the same as the last time they visited. Something like The Land really lets the children experience personal responsibility, independence and exploration and I think would be a great asset to any community. What better way for kids to behave like kids used to in years gone by, yet with the safety of adults watching from afar?