Yesterday's bizarre escapade in which a 6-year-old boy was believed to be adrift in a balloon had half the world watching in worry. We all breathed a sigh of relief when young Falcon Heene was found instead in the attic of the family's home. Subsequent news coverage, in which the family's unusual lifestyle was revealed, is bound to add to our ongoing dialogue about parenting: how much freedom and risk-taking is too much?
Coming from a generation that was allowed to play out-of-doors with very little supervision, I have suggested that today's parents are sometimes overprotective. Lenore Skenazy of Free-Range Kids agrees, while Terri Mauro, Guide to Special Children, defends helicopter parents. I'm sure that we all three agree that parents who love to expose their children to scientific experiments, as the Heenes reportedly do, must be equally vigilant about protecting them from danger. As for chasing storms with the kids, I've had experience in fleeing storms with my children, and I really can't see doing the reverse.
What is your take on the balloon boy episode? Is it an example of parenting gone wild, or something that could happen to anyone?
Although few parents have had to deal with thinking that a child has gone up in a balloon, all of us have had the experience of having our kids (or grandkids) scare us to death. Jennifer Wolf, Guide to Single Parents, wants to know how kids should be disciplined after such a scare. As Jennifer puts it, "How do you discipline your kids when you're just glad they're alive?"
I’ve long believed that today’s kids are overprotected, and I’ve supported Lenore’s efforts to get other parents to loosen up a bit. But these people are taking things a bit too far. I can’t say I have much respect for any parent who subjects their children to participation on a reality show as low-class as Wife Swap. But that’s beside the point. Children shouldn’t be put at risk by parents who crave some kind of adrenalin rush, which I imagine is the thrill of storm chasing. There are better and safer ways to get your kids interested in science.
There’s “giving the kids a little space” and then there’s “leaving a six-year-old in a position where he might be able to climb into a balloon and launch himself 8,000 feet in the air.” I suspect most parents would prefer to err on the side of caution.
That said, it seems more and more likely that this whole thing was staged specifically to get this family on Good Morning America and the rest, with those poor kids as props. And I sincerely hope that the authorities will get involved soon.
I don’t have kids and so can’t respond as a parent, but I’m around your age, Susan, and concur that modern parents are overly protective. I have a comment and an anecdote.
We don’t know the facts in this case, we know what the press reports – reports that are often subtlely editorialized.
As even a small child I often wandered off from my mother in grocery stores. (I guess I was born to be a cook.) She would often threaten to leave me if I wandered off again and one day (when I was 8 or 9) she actually did. Apparently she just drove around the side of the building and watched. Half an hour later she ran out of patience and came back into the store to discover I hadn’t even realized she was gone. Boy was she ticked off. Note: she tells this story on herself.
I think this is parenting gone wrong. The parents sound a little quirky (think the ’30s movie “You Can’t Take It With You”), but not necessarily in a fun way. There’s a fine line between being liberal and allowing your children to express themselves and putting them in danger. I’m really curious about their lifestyle.
It could be a case of media gone wild. I’ve disconnected myself from cable for the past several years and hadn’t heard about this, so had no details until I read your blog.
As we watched this amazing story unfold yesterday, we were more worried about the little boy who was apparently not in the contraption then the News Anchor Woman who was more interested in finding out as much about the family as she could. Obviously to put into the minds of viewers the notions that his family/storm chasers/scientist/inventor/renters/etc…Typical media bull crap. All the while speaking to Balloon Pilots trying to keep her on the subject of the Helium filled mylar balloon and how fast it was going/the safeness’s of it/how they were going to bring the balloon & boy down safely. This news woman should have been at home herself watching her own children, keeping them safe and out of harms way.
The men had better speaking capabilities than she.
tsk tsk … and this comment comes from a professional woman who works in publishing.
I think that parents these days tend to be far too overprotective; kids end up losing out on chances to explore, to imagine, and to spend time alone just being kids when their parents hover over them all the time.
On the other hand, leaving an expensive and potentially dangerous piece of scientific equipment like a weather balloon so loosely tethered that a 6-year-old can free it is really stupid.
The parents shouldn’t be scape-goated just because they are different. How dull would the world be if everyone was a soccer parent whose outside interests included golf and watching TV? But they should be more careful about securing their toys.
i think that that was weired y didnt they look for the boy bt\etter in sed of makein a big dell out of it
that was crazy n weierd for a moment but i think that they need to take care of there babys more