The Perks of Not Being Sheltered

Shelterd: protected from difficulties or unpleasant realities.

Parents want the best for their kids, but the sad fact is, if you build the world up to look perfect and never let your child experience any frustration or hard times, when they see the world for what it really is, devastation will be upon them. The world isn’t picture perfect, and it shouldn’t be portrayed that way.

I obviously have no experience with parenting a child, but by observing the people around me, looking at studies done by professionals, and hearing the confessions of sheltered children themselves, I can clearly see the negative effects from being a sheltered child.

In high school you could see who the sheltered children were. They were the ones who had their parents do their homework and looked uncomfortable anytime someone had an opinion other than the norm.

In college the sheltered children really stand out. They are the ones who look shocked and upset the first time they hear a curse word or have a class with an atheist teacher. They are the ones who either stay in their dorm as much as possible or go absolutely crazy at parties because they are experiencing their first whiff of freedom.

Sheltered children usually act as if they are mentally younger and are much more irresponsible. This is because their parents wanted them to have a worry-free childhood with no stress or decision making. Their parents most likely didn’t have them do much for themselves at all or if they did it was done in the exact way their parents instructed them so they had no need for critical thinking.

I am extremely thankful my parents raised me the way they did. They weren’t overprotective but they were protective enough. They let me play outside and do things on my own, but checked up on me every once in a while. When I got to be about 9 or 10 they started letting me stay the night at my friends’ houses but always made sure they knew who I was with. When I got to be a teen they let me stay after school for ball games I cheered at and spend a few days in a row at my friends’ houses, but they texted me to make sure I was okay.

They weren’t strict about who I dated as long as they were a decent, kind person. They let me develop my own ideals and thoughts even if they disagreed with their own. They taught me basic morals but let me decide everything else.

I am thankful my parents had me cook and clean, I’m thankful they had me work things out for myself, I’m thankful they let me make my own decisions about what I believe, and I am thankful I was raised to be independent and figure things out on my own.