September 24, 2012
Parents are asked to prepare children for the future, while living in the present, having been raised in the past. This reality can invoke fear on the part of modern parents. As a result, overscheduling is a common practice. Parenting consultant, Kim John Payne, however, suggests that Simplicity Parenting and its emphasis on providing time for extended periods of play prepares children for a complex future, whereas rigidly structuring our children's days is a throw back to the 1950's. Times have changed. Our children will not grow up to live and work in a world in which they train for a vocation that will provide them with job security and a pension for their retirement years. Preparation for that kind of world would be well served by heavily structuring children's time so they can according to Payne, "learn things from within a box and meet expectations and people-please". The structured and straightforward world of the past is rapidly deconstructing. Most people agree that our future economy and the skills needed to meet it are based on innovation - the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. Instead of following a strict schedule and rules, the learner who is prepared for the future is capable of figuring out how to find his or her own answers. What does this mean for parents? Simplicity Parenting, as described by Payne, is a way of life that "promotes play and creativity and honors a kid's needs and natural rhythms". Although some see this movement as a privilege for those who will be protected from the harsh realities of modern living (like living in the "Little House of the Prarie" times), Payne says that "nothing could be further from the truth". When children are allowed to have the time and space to get into serious play, they build an inner structure that is capable of innovation and developing the variety of skills that are necessary to meet the future. They become capable of creating their own structure for a life rather than relying on the external structure that no longer exists. It's time to let go of the past, to embrace the present with confidence and prepare our children to meet the future. Frankly, it's more difficult to keep children from practicing innovation than it is to allow them to do so. They have what it takes and through play, they grow in the skill and confidence needed to meet the future come what may.