Comments on: Grow up! 5 Ways We're Treating Our Children Like Adults

By: Let the Kids be Kids!! | Bible Stories

Let the Kids be Kids!! | Bible Stories — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 18:34:47 +0000

[...] Dr. Robyn JA Silverman says, “I’m sensing a very frustrating trend here. Children just can’t seem to be children much anymore. We tell them that we don’t want them to grow up too soon and yet, we’re treating them like little adults! I mean, are we serious? Why not just give them a briefcase and send them off to work too?” [...]

By: Larry Grabill

Larry Grabill — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:33:51 +0000

I agree. Let’s let the kids be kids. I quoted your following paragraph on my blog,

“I’m sensing a very frustrating trend here. Children just can’t seem to be children much anymore. We tell them that we don’t want them to grow up too soon and yet, we’re treating them like little adults! I mean, are we serious? Why not just give them a briefcase and send them off to work too?”

I hope that is alright with you.

By: Charles Batchelor

Charles Batchelor — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:01:34 +0000

Of course you don’t treat children as adults. But, at the same time you do want them to grow up. You want them to want to be adults.

I get annoyed at church where the kids are taken away in the middle of the service. Either they should be there or not. Kids need to see their parents being adults and, gee, what place is better than church? Or, maybe I should say, it should be the best place.

I have thought about this issue more than most. We created a free web service called Wuduplz.com for parents of pre-teens and teenagers to help teach cooperation, responsibility & commitment.

Here’s the link:
http://www.wuduPlz.com
Here’s our YouTube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd-8UcdNalU

We selected the name WuduPlz carefully. Teenagers should not feel victimized or punished, says Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, adolescent medicine specialist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “You want them to understand that the freedoms they get are directly related to how they demonstrate responsibility.” WuduPlz is designed to help parents teach this lesson. That’s not treating them as adults.

(It’s popular because it’s easier and faster texting if you’re at your computer. And, to make it more useful, WuduPlz can also deliver messages LATER to provide useful reminders. In other words, each family member with a cellphone is carrying around a little alarm clock that Mom or Dad can set to go off with a little note. Very handy.)

By: Imagination Playground: The Vital Role of Play in a Child’s Life « Dr. Robyn Silverman’s Blog

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:23:41 +0000

[...] Grow Up! Treating Children Like Little Adults [...]

By: Dr. Robyn featured on Bigg Success Radio Show « Dr. Robyn Silverman’s Blog

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:52:54 +0000

[...] Powerful Parenting blog post article; Grow up! How were Treating Our Children Like Little Adults, was featured today on the internet radio show Bigg Success. Click here to [...]

By: Bigg Success » Little Adults, Bigg Kids: What We’re All Missing Out On

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 05:31:07 +0000

[...] recently read a great post by Dr. Robyn Silvermen about treating kids like little adults. She offers a lot of great links to research and other articles about this increasing [...]

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 04:59:52 +0000

Interesting information! These are all things I knew, but didn’t really think about often. As a middle school teacher, we see children babied by parents. Kids who can’t pick out their own clothes, study for a quiz on their own, or speak to adults clearly.
I agree about the adult-sized meals, ridiculous, and waxing, come on! My niece is quite content with home mani-pedis with Mom and Auntie!

By: deb burton

deb burton — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:50:16 +0000

At first I thought this was going to be one of those posts where I’m made to feel guilty for giving my kids chores to do and for teaching them to act responsibly with their things, their interactions with others, and their conduct. Phew! I’m in 100% agreement with what you’re saying. Parents are pushing their children to be little adults, but at the expense of moral accountability and a proper perspective of priorities. My husband and I have always insisted our children live lives of integrity whether they’re “hanging out” , biking to the park or completing schoolwork. But their innocence is something we try to protect!

By: Dr. Robyn

Dr. Robyn — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 16:18:24 +0000

Hello Daja-

Thanks for coming by. I’m thrilled to hear that you are making sure that your children are participating in unstructured play.

Whether structured or unstructured– we’ve got to let kids be kids! Let them play outside! Climb rocks (something I loved to do with my best friend, Randi, when I was little!)! But also– let them take gymnastics! Martial arts! Swim! As we get older, there is much less time for people to do these things– not to mention, we’re often not as flexible– so the time is now for kids to be able to do things that are fun– and non-adult!

Come by again!

Dr. Robyn

By: Daja

Daja — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 04:15:20 +0000

This is a FANTASTIC post! I liked to you from Best Post of the Week.

You are so right on in these points!

We are striving to let our kids be kids and to let them have an unhurried childhood! We’ve refused thus far to enroll them in every available activity and have preferred unstructured free play outdoors, arts and crafts, and toys like building blocks.

This post was a great encouragement!