Many of us have heard people spout opinions about how “kids these days” are too coddled. We protect them from failures and defend them from disappointment. In doing so, we don’t allow kids to develop a thick skin (which apparently is desirable).
In order to not coddle our kids, they need to experience the disappointments and hardships of life, so they can develop resilience and learn how to persist in the face of adversity. ‘Survival of the fittest’ and all.
Except this isn’t the bloody hunger games and I’m no Effie Trinket.
I’m going to tell you about my day yesterday, a story that doesn’t involve parenting at all, then I promise to explain how it relates to the point I’m making.
It starts out like any typical Saturday morning. I make my way into the city from our rural home to meet with a client and am there for less than two hours. By the time I start to head back, there is a full-on blizzard happening, complete with zero visibility.
“By the way they treat children, many traditionally minded parents are also setting an example of disrespectful behaviour for them — and are likely to be outraged if the children proceed to imitate what they’ve seen.” —Alfie Kohn
Read my story on Neurodiversified.