• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Because dads don’t always think like moms™

  • Dad
    • Celebrities
    • Gay Dads
    • Sex
    • Single Dads
  • Pregnancy
    • Labor or Delivery
    • Pregnant Wife
  • Baby
    • Baby Naming
    • Feeding
    • Sleep
    • Toilet Training
  • Kids
  • Teens
  • Activities
    • Local
    • By Age
    • Movie Reviews
    • Celebrations
  • Toys
    • We Recommend
    • Toys
  • Coaching for Dads
  • Great Dad Talks Podcast

Three questions to reveal whether you are a free-range parent

February 10, 2015 by GreatDad Writers Leave a Comment

Scorning those “helicopter parents” who hover over a child’s every task, many fathers have migrated to a more hands-off approach in recent years.

Practiced in moderation, this long-distance oversight is sometimes called “consequences parenting” for its intent of purposely allowing kids to fail when they make mistakes. If a kid forgets to pack their cleats, they’ll simply have to skip soccer practice.

But taken to an extreme, the philosophy has been branded “free-range parenting,” and even sparked a lawsuit in Maryland when one family allowed their 6-year-old and 10-year-old to walk a mile home alone from a visit to the local park. Maryland law requires children younger than 8 to be supervised by a reliable person at least 13 years old when they are left in homes or cars, but the law says nothing about outdoors activity.

Supporters say they are just trying to raise capable, self-reliant adults who can grow up to get a job and afford to pay their own rent or mortgage. That defense makes sense when viewed through the lens of complaints about the rising tide of “boomerang children” who return to live in their childhood bedrooms after college graduation.

Other dads push back by citing fears that the dangers of the modern world have changed the conversation. Childhood freedoms that were seen as normal a generation ago – sleeping overnight in a backyard tent, or wandering between different neighborhood homes until dinnertime – might be classed as neglect today.

There is no clear line for creating a label of free-range parenting, so some families set their own limits by discussing real-life examples. To start a conversation about the limits that you and your wife would allow, here are three examples of free-range parenting that have hit the news in recent months. Would you ever:

  • Allow your 9-year old to ride a big-city subway alone?
  • Let your 6-year-old walk a mile home from the park overseen only by her 10-year-old brother?
  • Ask your 9-year-old son to walk home from school on his own?

Filed Under: Dad

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
SIGN-UP TODAY to receive the only baby newsletter written by dads, for dads. Act now and receive a free copy of the popular GreatDad E-Book!
My baby's due date or birthday :
Profile picture
Privacy Policy and Terms
Baby Name Finder!

what's in a name

  • Show names for:
  • Boys
  • Girls
  • Either
Finding a name you can both agree on isn't always easy. Use our simple name generator to get started.
First Letter
Last Letter
Number of Letters
Origin
Find a name!

More to See

5 Ways to Prepare Your Child for a Surgical Procedure

April 6, 2022 By Contributing Authors

How to get kids excited about dental hygiene

March 3, 2022 By Contributing Authors

Tags

529 Plan budgeting for teens college savings compromise dad dads Father's Day fatherhood friendship in-laws love marriage Movie Review parenting advice parenting skills prepaid cards ritual Sundays travel vacation

Footer

Hi mom!

Would you like to share this site with your husband or a friend?

Just enter his email address and your name below and we'll let him know all about GreatDad.com.

His email address
Your Name

Recent

  • A Dad’s Guide to Bonding with Your Kids Through Computer Games
  • 5 Ways to Prepare Your Child for a Surgical Procedure
  • How to get kids excited about dental hygiene
  • 10 Important Lessons to Teach Your Kids About Keeping Pets
  • The Happiness Advantage by Shawn Achor

Search

Tags

529 Plan budgeting for teens college savings compromise dad dads Father's Day fatherhood friendship in-laws love marriage Movie Review parenting advice parenting skills prepaid cards ritual Sundays travel vacation

Copyright © 2022 . GreatDad