Slow Down Parenting in a Fast Paced Life

Slow Parenting, A Revolution for Marin Parents?

A local Marinite, Susan Sachs Lipman, has been stirring up the parenting pot all around the country with her book Fed up with Frenzy, a project that developed out of her blog promoting the ideals of ‘slow parenting’. I hesitate to call this a new trend in parenting as in truth it is just a return to a more traditional type of parenting prior to the massive over use of technology and tv in the upbringing of young kids.

Susan Sachs Lipman has been at the forefront of the movement against strictly scheduled and jam-packed lives of both kids and parents. Remember when playtime began with five simple words, “Mom, can I go outside?” Lipman wishes to enlighten modern parents as to how the most simple of activities can very well end up being their children’s’ fondest memories.

Today, kids are constantly submerged in planned activities soccer, baseball, piano lessons or simply propped in front of some sort of screen to distract them long enough so mommy can get her errands done.

Wikipedia describes ‘slow parenting’ as a style in which few activities are organized for children. Instead, they are allowed to explore the world at their own pace. It is a response to concerted cultivation  and the widespread trend for parents to schedule activities and classes after school; to solve problems on behalf of the children, and to buy services from commercial suppliers rather than letting nature take its course.

One mom put it nicely, “I am tired of feeling like a bad parent if my kids are not playing three sports, doing music lessons, and having a tutor to help him catch up...all at the same time! I stopped the overactive and destructive schedules this fall, and my boys…are different kids”.

 Lipman’s book has a plethora of family oriented activities that involve a different kind of stimulation than kids these days are oriented to enjoy. There are over 300+ projects in her book, which are designed to give families ideas and instructions for simple activities, many of which can be done spontaneously and with little equipment on a free afternoon or during a low-key gathering. She proclaims one of her favorites activities is the old school paper boat making with her kids and sailing them down a creek or stream. Others include picking fruit on long summer days and coming home and making jam, mixing a bucket of bubble solution and enjoying giant bubbles for days, playing tag in the park, making and eating homemade soft pretzels, keeping a moon diary, and watching the night sky for meteors. With so many possibilities for creative and imagination boosting options for fun would you still want your kids inside playing video games?

Is life just a wee bit too chaotic and bustling these days or do fast paced activities just fit in with our evolving culture? Let us know what you think. And don’t forget to check out Lipman’s website for some truly inspiring ideas!

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