Mothers spend as much time with their kids as 40 years ago & Fathers' time higher - Page 2

[dancingmama]

Originally Posted by Brigianna

I was just thinking that probably the biggest difference between childhood 40 yrs ago and childhood today is that kids 40 yrs ago had (I think) much more free independent time, while kids today start school/preschool/daycare so young and have so many more sports, extracurriculars, after-school programs, etc...

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For what it's worth, my dds are in daycare/preschool situations 3 days/week while I work, and the truth is, they have TONS of free play, indoor and outdoor exploration time while they are there. I know when you think of daycare or preschool, you probably think of a very structured, less-than-optimal situation. But in reality, it can be awesome. DD helps with chores, eats family style, and explores outdoors. She plays tons of imagination games with her friends, and has unstructured art times where she makes wonderful creations. The vast majority of her day is free play. She also has the occasional "circle time" or story time or nap time to give structure to her day, much the same as gets some structure on the days I'm home, and lots of free play time. Anyway, just wanted to throw that in there.

[Brigianna]

Originally Posted by dancingmama

For what it's worth, my dds are in daycare/preschool situations 3 days/week while I work, and the truth is, they have TONS of free play, indoor and outdoor exploration time while they are there. I know when you think of daycare or preschool, you probably think of a very structured, less-than-optimal situation. But in reality, it can be awesome. DD helps with chores, eats family style, and explores outdoors. She plays tons of imagination games with her friends, and has unstructured art times where she makes wonderful creations. The vast majority of her day is free play. She also has the occasional "circle time" or story time or nap time to give structure to her day, much the same as gets some structure on the days I'm home, and lots of free play time. Anyway, just wanted to throw that in there.

I know some daycares/pre-schools are "freer" than others, and your dds' sounds like one of the better ones. Although I would also point out that pre-school 3 days a week is not the same as what I see as so common--school 8 hrs a day 5 days a week followed by after-school programs followed by a sport or other class plus an hour or 2 of homework plus organized stuff on the weekends...

I read articles about criticisms of the current crop of people in college and entering the workforce, that (in general) they have trouble taking initiative, need to have everything structured for them, expect to be rewarded all the time for good behavior... I can't help but think it's related to this "enrichment" structuring trend.