Truth be told as a parent I feel like a lot of times I am failing with my kids. I am sure all of us parents feel this way at some time or another, and perhaps even daily. But trust me I tell you we are all in this together and we are all doing the best we could do to give our kids the best life we can. However, as a mom, I know I can be overly protective when dealing with my kids. My oldest is now 12 and I have difficulty letting her ride her bike around the neighborhood for fear she is going to get run over. I also tend to not overly check her grades but if she gets a “bad” grade, I will sit her down and talk to her. I am sure in some way we can all be like this and that is why Chasing Childhood is an absolute must watch for ALL PARENTS!
SYNOPSIS:
Overprotected and overdirected, American children are wilting under the weight of well-meaning parents. In the pursuit of keeping them safe and creating an impressive resumé of extracurricular activities to wow admissions boards, over-parenting smothers children across socioeconomic classes. This thoughtful film follows education professionals and reformed helicopter parents who seek and offer solutions for developing more confident, independent young people while restoring some joy and freedom to childhood.
Directed by: Margaret Munzer Loeb, Eden Wurmfeld
Produced by: Lisa Eisenpresser, Eden Wurmfeld
Featuring: Genevieve Eason, Savannah Eason, Julie Lythcott-Haims, Peter Gray, Lenore Skenazy, Dr. Michael Hynes
From beginning to end this movie was brilliant and so important for every single parent from every facet of life to watch. This is a wonderful documentary that is extremely eye opening. There are two main parts that really stuck out to me. The first being the term we hear a lot, “helicopter parenting”. This term showcases how parents hover over their kids never independently allowing them to learn from their mistakes. We learn the story of Savannah Eason who is raised in a very strict household where only A’s are allowed. Savannah is a thriving and beautiful baker today but not without the struggles she had in life including the constant pressure giving way to having to get her life together by going to a drug clinic to turn around her life. Her mom is now an advocate of a program called “Free Range Kids” where kids are given more independence.
The second topic along the line of “Free Range Kids” is allowing kids to have autonomy in their lives and not hovering over their constant safety. Totally guilty as charged with this one! The story tells that the odds of being abducted is 1:300,000 even with parents not allowing their kids to walk to school, take the bus, etc. The documentary exams some of this realities and certainly had me thinking for a long time to come.
See more about this movie and about streaming here: Chasing Childhood.