Katie Dickison

LBST 392

Nancy van Groll

June 26, 2020

                                           Reading Reflection 6

Throughout this course, I have learned a lot about the effects of restricting a child’s involvement in risky play. Therefore, I know that in doing so, we are inhibiting crucial developmental milestones that a child needs in order to gain proper environmental competence, a sense of purpose, self-worth and efficacy, social competence, and resilience.  Now, The Bubble-Wrap Generation: Children Growing up in Walled Gardens by Karen Malone does in fact mention all of the above, but its primary purpose is to “explore children and parent relationships, in particular, the phenomena of ‘bubble-wrapping’ children to appease the anxieties of middle-class parents” (Malone 513). With that being said, I found this article very beneficial in providing me with a different perspective on the issue of restricting children’s play that I don’t believe I received in previous readings. For starters, I should say that I had heard of the term ‘bubble-wrapping’ regarding parenting, but I wasn’t aware as to the extent of the issue. For example, parents have begun treating their child as if they’re a growing plant that needs to be nourished, nurtured, and protected at all times (Malone 515). That, particularly, in Australia, parents are completely restricting there child’s movement to the point where they won’t allow them to bike or walk to school, hang out in the street with friends, or spend free time outside on their own. However, this is no longer shocking based on everything I’ve read up to this point. But it still never ceases to amaze me the lengths that parents will go to simply because they lack confidence in their child-rearing abilities (Malone 523) – that they’re worried other people may see them as a neglectful parent (Malone 519).

Another topic that I found to be very interesting was the discussion surrounding parents, specifically generation X parents, who can’t tell their child, no (Malone 523). The reason why I find this to be so interesting is that this is something I see and experience on a daily basis where I work. Pre-pandemic, I was working at multiple daycares in West Vancouver that are associated with neighbouring elementary schools. And I don’t know if it’s because of the lifestyle in West Van, but parents not only never say no to their child, but they’re also very overprotective, even more so than parents in North Vancouver. Now, I’m not trying to say that all parents in West Vancouver are like this, and I’ve only been working with kids for about 3 or 4 years, so I don’t have extensive knowledge on the subject, but this is just from my experience and what I’ve noticed as I’ve been working. With that being said, children who have overprotective parents or one’s that never say no, just as Malone included in her article, have issues on the playground due to a lack of ability to solve problems on their own. Thus, leading them to seek adult protection continuously (523). Case in point, I’ll be approached time and time again by a child in order to help them solve an issue with another kid. My problem is, however, that I find myself obliging them almost every time. Due to this culture of overprotecting our children, I fear that if someone sees me sending a child back on their own after they’ve come to me for help, they’ll view this as me being lazy or that I don’t care; essentially, that I’m not doing my job. However, this article reminds me of the importance of stepping back and allowing children to not only handle their own problems but allow them to make mistakes and learn from them. A reminder that we are built to be able to handle stressors and challenges (Malone 523).