How To Raise A Free Range Child

by Karen Ricks

I am so very blessed to spend my days traveling the globe with my family!  We share meals together, work side by side, and navigate the ins and outs of daily life in a variety of countries and cultures on continents all over the world. People comment regularly how fascinating our nomadic lifestyle appears. “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” flash through their minds, or visions us of lounging on the beach swinging in a hammock with an umbrella drink in hand.  The truth of the matter is, our normal daily life is simply a different perspective on travel, parenting, and education.

There are so many challenges that we face moving from place to place like interacting with new communities in different languages and pursuing our dreams each and every day.  Despite the fact that our and lifestyle may look different from the norm, I believe the challenges that we tackle as parents are the same worldwide. No matter where you live or what language you may speak, the people around you will have expectations about how you raise your children.

Whether or not those expectations match your family values,  I believe there are three very crucial things we must do as parents to ensure that the individuals under our care can flourish and grow into the independent adults we dream we can be.

Examine Your Own Heart

Before we can ever consider the impact we desire to have in our child’s life, we must first pause and reflect upon our own experiences,  desires,  and expectations.  What events, activities, or influences most coloured our childhood in a positive light? What is it that we want most for our child? What do we think we have to do in order to provide that future an opportunity? What do we expect is imperative for the child to do in order to follow through and realize this potential?

Be Observant

My observations of my son’s learning style over the years, as well as the hundreds of children I’d taught before he was ever born, gave me an entirely out-of-the-box playbook from which to continue to guide his instruction, now that we have taken our education outside of the traditional  classroom setting.

The innocence of his young perspective and his ever-present wonder remind me daily that learning is happening all the time. We need merely slow down enough to observe our children’s amazing absorbent minds in action, and appreciate the incredible miracles they soak up every minute of every day.

Follow the Child

When my son was just four years old, he had a burning desire to earn his own money. This was not a simple dream of running a lemonade stand and collecting some cash to buy a trinket, however. He wanted to learn how to create passive income! He made his entrepreneurial parents so very proud, that we immediately rushed out to introduce him to the game that started us on our journey- Monopoly!

Fueled by all the wonderful things he was going to buy and all of the places he would visit, our son’s imaginary bank account grew as fast as his imagination. Following his need to learn even more about the different ways in which he could bankroll his jet-setting dreams, he progressed to even more complex games, under our methodical guidance. 

Has your child expressed an interest in pursuing a goal or a dream that you don’t think he’s ready for just yet? How might you provide a supportive and encouraging path toward that dream that is both developmentally appropriate, and that also respects the child’s vision for his future potential?

So what does it take to Raise a Free-Range child? Consider these things.

1 – Who are you as a person, as a parent, as your child’s first and best teacher? What vital experiences have you had that have shaped your development as the person you are today? Are you ready to set aside your personal history and expectations in order to meet your child wherever she is right now?

2 – What do you see when you watch your child? Who is he, and who does he desire to become? Can you envision that same desire?

3 – What experiences can you offer to help her so that she may gain mastery over herself and her environment? How can you fuel her passions in order to help her realize her dreams?

The innocence of his young perspective and his ever-present wonder remind me daily that learning is happening all the time.

Karen Ricks

One of the things that we do most often in our household is to cook together. Taking the time to prepare meals with and for one another offers us daily opportunities to connect, to provide for one another in a very sacred and meaningful way. Each and every time my child steps into our kitchen, he has the chance to see the the things that he envisions in his mind become a reality at his fingertips. He creates, he shares, and together we are reminded that the work of our hands has value. We drink in the love and we devour the affection that we cook up together in Our Kitchen Classroom.