Ep. 129: A Manifesto to Strength: Raising Anti-Fragile Kids

<p><a href= "https://sunshine-parenting.com/ep-129-a-manifesto-to-strength-raising-anti-fragile-kids/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Show notes & links available here.</a></p> <p>In this episode, I'm talking to Steve Baskin about raising strong, anti-fragile kids. Steve and his wife, Susie, are the owners and directors of <a href="http://www.campchampions.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Camp Champions</a> in Marble Falls, Texas. For over 27 years, Steve has studied the camp experience and how to make it the best possible growth opportunity for kids. In his new essay, <strong>A Manifesto to Strength</strong> (published below for the first time) and in this interview, Steve shares his thoughts on what we can do as parents to raise kids who aren't so fragile.</p> <h2>Big Ideas</h2> <ul> <li>The summer camp experience offers kids so many benefits and opportunities for education and development.</li> <li>Avoid over-parenting and preparing the road for your child. Instead, prepare your child for the road by doing less for them as they get older.</li> <li>Kids who are allowed to experience life's ups and downs, learn to advocate for themselves and who learn from their mistakes are more equipped for adulthood.</li> <li>Protecting kids from discomfort is not the same thing as protecting our kids from danger. It does more harm than good in the long run.</li> <li>Camp is a powerful place to build internal strength.</li> <li><strong>Resilience</strong> means you are worse after a challenge, whereas if we are <strong>anti-fragile</strong>, we should emerge from a challenging situation stronger. An example is a child who overcomes homesickness at summer camp and then has an easier time going away from home when it's time for college.</li> <li>It can be hard for parents to see their kids for the age they truly are. Instead, they see the "weighted average of all their memories."</li> </ul> <h2>Quotes</h2> <p>Audrey: "We have a lot in common in that we take this camp thing very seriously and are always thinking a