Overparenting

John Vandervelde - Program Director

Time Magazine is one of my favorite publications to read, not because I agree with everything they write but because I enjoy reading about the topics they cover.  It helps me learn about our culture and what is going on in the world.  The articles are often very well written as well.  I've been a regular subscriber to Time for over 5 years.  

The cover story on this week's edition is, "Can These Parents be Saved: The Backlash Against Overparenting."  I loved the article.  It was challenging and encouraging to me as a parent and as a person working in adventure ministry with kids.  As I read I kept agreeing with what was written and asking myself, "Do I do that with my kids?" or saying to myself, "Man, I need to let go a little bit."

The article is full of interesting statistics and comments about how we as a society are too controlling and too overprotective of our kids.  We need to learn to let our kids go, let them fail, let them struggle, and let them solve their own problems because that is how real development happens.  The growing problem of overparenting has more of a significant impact on our kids and our society than we can imagine. 

You can pick up a copy of Time for about $3 or you can just read the article by following this link: "The Backlash Against Overparenting".  I encourage you to read it today.  

NOTE:  Due to the Thanksgiving holiday we will be taking a break from updating the blog.  There will be no new posts Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week.  We will resume our regular posting schedule on Monday, November 30.  Happy Thanksgiving!!