We moved to Silicon Valley from the rural North 3 years ago. Our child was 3 at the time. It was WILD to me, to see at the playgrounds, parents and grandparents serving as their children's playmates in lieu of the children playing with peers outside of their own household. Parallel play at 6 years old?! And now that our kiddo is in school, we notice the neglected socialization everywhere. And the teachers are burning out at fantastically high rates as well (and then, they have the kids watch YouTube videos and call it "lessons" more and more as the school year passes.) Layer on top of that the terror SV parents and caregivers have of children playing in both rain and sunny places that are wet from rain, so instead they require kids to "play" - aka still-craft inside - through the winter, and it's a disaster that builds year over year with only school breaks (maybe, most kids are sent to more still-play day camps) and summer break (more still-play, or, even worse, iPad babysitter all summer to save on nanny costs to afford those ski weeks in Tahoe) as a reprieve for these little minds and bodies.
You raise such a good point here about the exhaustion of parents and teachers, who were never meant to supervise and entertain children to the extent that they do now. By letting go, not only do we benefit the kids, but the adults around them get a break!
I see the parents and grandparents as playmates on the East Coast too. I get that adults feel like they don't have enough time with their kids but I really wish they would just take a break and let the kids all play together. I feel like the only adult telling my kid "this equipment is for 3 to 10 year olds, and that's not me". When I do lead educational programs at libraries and adults are present, I have to remind them that the activity is for the child, please let the child do it!
A friend and I took our older toddlers to a wildlife refuge today and it was a blast. The weather was dreary but not too cold, light drizzle that you could only see on the lake, and no one else was there. Each kid found a stick about twice their size and dragged them around for almost an hour. There was also an amazing indoor playroom and a fun playground with a half buried canoe and lots of things that would be deemed "too dangerous". It was a really great afternoon.
We moved to Silicon Valley from the rural North 3 years ago. Our child was 3 at the time. It was WILD to me, to see at the playgrounds, parents and grandparents serving as their children's playmates in lieu of the children playing with peers outside of their own household. Parallel play at 6 years old?! And now that our kiddo is in school, we notice the neglected socialization everywhere. And the teachers are burning out at fantastically high rates as well (and then, they have the kids watch YouTube videos and call it "lessons" more and more as the school year passes.) Layer on top of that the terror SV parents and caregivers have of children playing in both rain and sunny places that are wet from rain, so instead they require kids to "play" - aka still-craft inside - through the winter, and it's a disaster that builds year over year with only school breaks (maybe, most kids are sent to more still-play day camps) and summer break (more still-play, or, even worse, iPad babysitter all summer to save on nanny costs to afford those ski weeks in Tahoe) as a reprieve for these little minds and bodies.
You raise such a good point here about the exhaustion of parents and teachers, who were never meant to supervise and entertain children to the extent that they do now. By letting go, not only do we benefit the kids, but the adults around them get a break!
Yes! More breathing room, more respite from structure, is good for us all, and good for us collectively!
I see the parents and grandparents as playmates on the East Coast too. I get that adults feel like they don't have enough time with their kids but I really wish they would just take a break and let the kids all play together. I feel like the only adult telling my kid "this equipment is for 3 to 10 year olds, and that's not me". When I do lead educational programs at libraries and adults are present, I have to remind them that the activity is for the child, please let the child do it!
It hadn't occurred to me they did it because they missed time with their child\ren. Thank you for sharing that perspective!
A friend and I took our older toddlers to a wildlife refuge today and it was a blast. The weather was dreary but not too cold, light drizzle that you could only see on the lake, and no one else was there. Each kid found a stick about twice their size and dragged them around for almost an hour. There was also an amazing indoor playroom and a fun playground with a half buried canoe and lots of things that would be deemed "too dangerous". It was a really great afternoon.