A parenting style that abjures risk at all costs may be at least partially responsible for the country’s economic doldrums.
Mollie Hemingway makes that bold statement in a blog post describing tricycle helmets for preschoolers and parents’ fears about letting youngsters mow the lawn. The tendency to protect children from all risk is not healthy.
So to sum up, letting your child take risks allows them to conquer fear and develop “a sense of mastery.” Irrationally shielding them from risk creates phobias and psychopaths.
Excessive risk avoidance may even affect economic growth.
… a parenting style that abjures risk at all costs may be at least partially responsible for the country’s economic doldrums. In June, the Wall Street Journal pointed out four trends, observable since the 1980s, that showed a marked declined in risk-taking psychology. “Risk Averse Culture Infects U.S. Workers, Entrepreneurs” notes that ongoing job creation and destruction has slowed, that investors are less willing to back startups, that startups in general are down and that the workforce itself is resistant to migration and job change.
So maybe it was a mistake to hire a lawn service instead of making my kids mow our lawn?
.. If we’re ever going to fix America, we have to understand that freedom’s just another word for letting the neighborhood kids mow your lawn.
A bit dramatic, but I see the point.
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