Are Kids Being Over Supervised Essay

Are kids being over-supervised? It’s true that kids make lot of mistakes and don’t think about the outcomes of their decisions, and it’s understandable to have eyes on your kids to prevent these mistakes, but at what point is supervision hindering their ability to learn and grow from their own experiences? Parents have crossed the boundaries of supervision and need to let their kids have some independence. A lot of parents believe that kids shouldn’t be left unsupervised and need someone to prevent them from doing something dangerous, which is very understandable, but there is a line that I’ve seen parents cross time and time again. I agree that kids should be supervised when doing something that may be dangerous, but parents

Without being given the independence to learn and accomplish tasks, kids will become dependent on their parents to direct them and set an example. In "Stanford-led study highlights the importance of letting kids take the lead" by Krysten Crawford, she highlights the negative effects of constant supervision on children: "But too much direct engagement can come at a cost to kids’ abilities to control their own attention, behavior and emotions. When parents let kids take the lead in their interactions, children practice self-regulation skills and build independence." Without the freedom to lead themselves, kids lack the ability to regulate themselves and stay focused. It’s very important to let kids test boundaries so they can learn what will happen, rather than being told what will happen, so they can develop crucial skills. In "Is Excessive Supervision Harming Children’s Health?" by the CHEO Research Institute, it is mentioned how these negative effects are a result of a loss of balance of when it is appropriate to supervise a child. "We have lost the balance between short-term safety and long-term health. In outdoor play, risk doesn’t mean courting danger, but rather giving kids the freedom to assess their surroundings and make decisions, allowing them to build confidence, develop skills, solve problems, and learn limits." I believe that this is a problem because there is such a blurred line on what is safe for children. Because of our constant access to media, we see all of these horrible things that happen around the world, and I understand how that could make a parent worry; a lot of parents jump to the conclusion that "the world is more dangerous than when I was younger", but according to information reported on by the New York Times, murders per 100,000 people have gone down from 10/100,000 in 1980