A friend sent me this article in the Atlantic about The Overprotected Kid

In it they talk about a documentary that explores a “playground” built around the idea of letting kids do what they really want, to play with fire, use sharp tools and the like. It is a concept (and in the case of Adventureland a reality) that fights the common belief that children are not intelligent enough to know right from wrong, or how too stay safe.

It is something every parent deals with, contemplates and ultimately has to enforce. It is the prime directive that a parent needs to keep there children safe, it is not up to them to decide, but there are times, in a semi-controlled way, that it is REALLY important to let them decide, otherwise the fear becomes a reality and the child has a hard time differentiating between safe/unsafe, good/bad, proper/improper.

When Luke saw just a still image of the place, a boy stoking a rough made fire, his only words were:

“What is that, I want to go there”

Its just the way it is.

You can stream the movie (its only 22 minutes) here for $4.99.