Chasing Childhood

(USA / 2020 / Directed by Margaret Munzer Loeb & Eden Wurmfeld)

In today's highly charged world of structure, stranger danger, and helicopter parenting, free play and independence have all but disappeared, giving way to organized activities and a pursuit of perfectionism that’s also leading to record high anxiety and depression. What’s lost goes well beyond our idyllic conceptions of childhood past. When kids don’t play unsupervised by adults, they don’t gain critical life skills: grit, independence, and resourcefulness. Though they may appear more accomplished on paper, by the time they get to college they are often falling apart, lacking the emotional tools to navigate young adulthood.

Throughout individual stories, Chasing Childhood explores how we got here and how we might eschew harmful parenting strategies and empower our kids. Potential solutions are offered by the leaders of the Free Range Kids movement, including former Stanford Dean and author of “How to Raise an Adult,” Julie Lythcott-Haims, Biological Psychologist Peter Gray, and others.

Unrated / 1 hr 18 mins.