Netflix's summer hit, a new show called "Stranger Things," does not just deliver entertainment, suspense and drama. Any parent watching the series can also draw out a parenting lesson or two, especially in this day and age when paranoia has become the new normal.
"Stranger Things" is set in the 80s, a time when cellphones, the internet and being largely cooped indoors were not part of children's daily activities. It highlights unstructured play among kids, where they are shown freely wandering off on their bikes around town, without parental supervision, or helmets and bike pads as safety measures.
This was a reality for the children of the 80s, as shared by Valerie Watson, who actually grew up in the neighborhood where "Stranger Things" filmed, per Curbed. She acknowledged that being allowed by her parents to wander off with other neighborhood kids back then greatly influenced her choices as an adult. She wasn't taught by her parents to "be afraid of everything like today."
These days, this method could be tagged as "free-range" parenting, which has drawn huge debates among parents online, as Parent Herald previously reported. Some believe that being overly protective of children deters them from gaining life skills to help them cope better as adults. The overprotected and sheltered child could also grow up becoming paranoid because this is how his or her parents have oriented them about the world.
New York Times echoes that children might be shortchanged whenever parents become overprotective. Yet there could be valid reasons for the paranoia given the spate of mass shooting and other crimes that are happening around us. However, a series like "Stranger Things" is also a great reminder for parents that for kids to learn to grasp how to live in a world that could be deemed unsafe, it might be more helpful if adults let children explore with minor supervision.
“Often it’s only when the parents aren’t watching that a child can become a hero.” https://t.co/9zYWi8NdSP
— Steve Randy Waldman (@interfluidity) August 7, 2016
Have you seen "Stranger Things" on Netflix? Do you agree with the parenting observations and reflections that have been pointed out? Share your thoughts in the comments!
