Raymond Parenting

Blog » We’d better hurry

We’d better hurry

Posted May 1, 2009

"Oh! I forgot about gymnastics today!
We'd better hurry!"

... I overheard a parent say recently as I was picking up my granddaughter from kindergarten. Knowing that the little boy was pressured to move fast after a full morning of kindergarten, to speed through lunch and be on time for his gym class, made me aware once again of the many ways that children are being rushed through childhood.

The 'word on the street', these days is that if you are a conscientious parent you'll involve your baby or preschooler in dance, swimming, gym and music. Whether it is to keep them busy or round out their early “educational” opportunities, the drawbacks of leading a too-busy life include extra time driving from place to place and burn-out from too many adult-directed activities. Children need lots of "do-nothing" time (non-electronic) to review their thoughts, daydream, and practice resourcefulness if and when boredom sets in.

Young children do their best learning through exploration and curious discovery. Your home provides the best laboratory for this child-directed learning to happen, augmented by a preschool experience at age 3 and 4 years and by a play-based kindergarten after the age of five. If we wish our children to have a slow, memorable childhood…we need to practice slow, confident parenting.

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