Does Ignoring Your Kids Make Them More Independent?
BOSTON (CBS) - Some moms are finding this advice too good to ignore: pay less attention to your kids.
Jill Smokler, AKA "Scary Mommy", got a huge response on her blog when she wrote about the fine art of ignoring your children. While mostly positive, one woman asked, "Why would you have children, only to ignore them?" Smokler's response, "sometimes the less we do for our kids, the better. The less we hover over them. The less we're coddling them. It certainly works for me." And she adds, "I think it's made them really self-sufficient and creative little thinkers."
Other moms agree calling it the exact opposite of helicopter parenting. So now instead of hovering over her two young boys, Julia Hermann-Foster simply leaves them alone. And she sees the benefits. "It doesn't faze them when we leave them with a sitter. When we go to different play activities with mom groups they easily go and play with other kids."
WBZ-TV's Paula Ebben reports
Child psychiatrist Dr. Sharon Hirsch says you can't do everything for your kids and expect them to grow up. "You've got to let them learn how to sort things out and work things out for themselves."
The one obvious exception, whenever safety is a concern.
