Over-protective parents can be among the most detrimental influences to a healthy, developing child. Don’t climb that tree or you’ll fall and break your arm. Don’t go outside without 50+ sun block or you’ll burn and get cancer. Stay inside or germs will make you sick. Some adults just have difficulty reconciling keep their young ones safe and reducing them to wimps.
Reporter John Stossel takes a long look at a popular YouTube video posted by comedian/political commentator Gavin McInnes that shows him playfully rough-housing with his child. While the child is shown gleefully romping with dad and bouncing around pillows, angry “experts” want the fun to stop.
McInnes points out that studies have shown physical play tends to benefit children and foster parental bonding. It also helps them negotiate the real world. The question that everyday Americans may want to ask themselves is whether they want to protect children from every “possible” minor bump and bruise or not.
To that end, research shows that not only does physical play help children, emotional disappointment tends to drive kids to excel and be happier as well. That “participation trophy” may actually make your child feel worse than losing the big game.
Researchers are culling through the long-term data that came out of the so-called “self-esteem movement” that began in the 1970s.
If you are a parent concerned about how much rough play and competition is healthy for your child, check out John Stossel’s report. No one wants their child to be a “wuss.”
