Free Range or Caged Kids

Yesterday I was at our local bookstore, which is just about the cutest thing you'll ever see, and started scanning the parenting books. Mostly I was looking at books about vaccines. It's become an obsession of mine, and in case you're wondering, no I am not vaccinating. I did it with Emma and doubted myself every time I took her in for a well baby check up. I took Olivia for her first well-baby check up, talked the dr out of as many vaccines as I could, and still felt horrible about injecting her with poison. And by poison, I mean formaldehyde, mercury, aluminum, aspartame, aborted fetal tissue, calf serum, monkey fetal lung cells and kidney tissue, and much, much more. I also don't understand how they can rationalize injecting the same vaccine into children of all different sizes and ages.

Moving on...

So I picked up a book named, "Free Range Kids". I'm all about anything free range so I read the introduction and wasn't as sold as I thought I would be. The author basically states that we are overprotective with our children and need to remove the bubble wrap and let them LIVE. She gained worldwide recognition for becoming the worst mom in the world because she let her 9 year old take the subway by himself in New York. She discusses our obsession with safety, the unrealistic worry of our children being abducted (the statistics are shockingly, but really not so shockingly low), fewer children walking to school, and our judgment of other parents who have a more laid back approach. This really resonates with me. I am of the laid back type, but when it comes to my children, their safety is unquestionable. I would have to kill someone if anything happened to either one of them. I've had to warn my mother so she doesn't get too relaxed while my girls are under her care. We've already had a couple of situations where I worried I would have to be involuntarily committed because of her lack of good judgment.

I agree with this author. I do. I totally understand where she's coming from. I appreciate what she's doing with her kids and WISH I could be like this. But I can't. So while I won't be allowing Emma to walk to school anytime soon or letting Olivia stick her fingers in any outlets, I see this woman's point and wish I could be more on board with her. I am interested in reading more about free range kids though and, from what I read, would suggest it to other parents. We are all a little too uptight and quick to judge other parents so I think there is something to be learned from this book.