Research
The Research Behind Independence
The Independent Kids Project isn't based on nostalgia or the idea that children should simply 'go back to the way things were.'
Researchers and authors across psychology, childhood development, education and social science have been examining what happens when children have opportunities for free play, autonomy, independence, appropriate risk and real-world experience — and what happens when those opportunities disappear.
Three particularly influential voices are Peter Gray, Lenore Skenazy and Jonathan Haidt.
Three researchers
Start with their work
Peter Gray
Free to Learn
Psychologist Peter Gray's work explores children's natural drive to learn through play, exploration and self-direction — and what children develop when adults give them greater freedom.
Explore Peter Gray's Research →Lenore Skenazy
Free-Range Kids
Lenore Skenazy challenges the culture of fear surrounding childhood and asks whether we've confused reasonable childhood risk with genuine danger.
Explore Free-Range Kids →Jonathan Haidt
The Anxious Generation
Jonathan Haidt examines the decline of play-based childhood and the rise of a phone-based childhood, arguing that children need more real-world experience, independence and face-to-face connection.
Explore The Anxious Generation →
Where they meet
Three Voices. One Bigger Question.
Peter Gray
What happens when children are given the freedom to play, explore and direct themselves?
Lenore Skenazy
What happens when adults become so fearful that children lose ordinary opportunities for independence?
Jonathan Haidt
What happens when children lose real-world freedom and increasingly turn to the digital world instead?
These authors are not saying exactly the same thing.
But their work intersects around an important question:
What happens when childhood becomes too controlled?
Children need adults.
They need boundaries.
They need protection.
They need guidance.
But they also need opportunities to experience life without us.
Independence isn't something we hand to a child when they turn 18.
It is built gradually through thousands of small experiences:
- Let me try.
- Let me work it out.
- Let me make the decision.
- Let me take the challenge.
- Let me solve the problem.
- Let me go.
And eventually:
"I can do this."
Explore the Research