Every day, I see another article about free-range parenting and how it was the "norm" just a few decades ago. I wasn't a parent in the '70s or '80s -- but I was a kid. And it's true; when I was young, we left the house and didn't come home until dark. My parents knew my general whereabouts, but didn't keep tabs on me. We were barefoot the entire summer. We rode in the back of pickup trucks without seat belts. We chased fireflies at night. We went on adventures, read books and played with friends without parental supervision.
Did our parents take a more lackadaisical approach when raising us or trust more in the "village" for support during this free-range period? Were we exposed to all the same dangers when we were young, but our parents were fortunate enough not to have Google or live news feeds running straight to their cell phones? Were parents not exposed to as much fear mongering? Or maybe parenting was easier because people didn't have open forums or computer screens to hide behind when broadcasting their hateful messages or bullying? Was ignorance truly bliss just a few decades ago? Why does it seem that raising children is so much more difficult in the world we live in today?
Now, in the information age, it's hard to hide from the stories of kidnappings, disease "epidemics," or "how to raise your children" advice columns -- even if we want to. Savvy marketing campaigns continuously target parents to spread fear so we will purchase their products. Social media opened the door for criticisms and the Internet created millions of pseudo experts who like to share their opinions on everything. Parenting is exhausting and overwhelming enough without having the everyday notification of something new that will harm our babies.
In my brief five years as a parent and two boys later, I've realized a few things that have helped me survive in the toxic parenting jungle:
- Everything is going to be fine. Follow your gut. Every child is different. Ultimately, you know what's best for your kids. Our parents lived by the same philosophy.
As much as I would like to strap an ankle monitor on my boys and follow them around via GPS their entire lives -- I know that's not possible. All we can do as parents is teach our children how to love, be strong, be kind, stand up to bullies, be responsible, and make wise decisions. As for other parents, we need to get back to a time where we embraced parenthood - together. If we educate our kids and support each other more, maybe the world won't be so toxic after all.
Article originally featured on mum.info