by Purple Doodles

Created on: February 05, 2009

Should children be given freedom? This is an age-old debate topic, one for which the answer is always yes, but with a qualifier. It depends on how you define freedom. It depends on how you define the boundaries for the freedom.

The freedom in the case of children is essentially from a learning perspective. Yes. Children should be free to explore and learn, within the boundaries of safety and correct knowledge. And when a child is given this kind of freedom he learns a lot more than what he set out to learn in the first place.

When a child is free to explore, he reaches remarkable levels of concentration and engagement A much sought-after inner discipline. In fact, the various forms of disciplinary stipulations' that we see around us exists only to foster this kind of concentration. If only we realize that this mental discipline is best reached in an environment of freedom.

When a child is free, his true nature is revealed. It allows one to get a glimpse of his destiny. It gives the child the discipline to recognize his talents and potentialities and therefore his inner calling. Isn't the pursuit of individual destiny the work of man?

When a child is free, his true progress will be revealed. Because his true potential is revealed only under conditions of true freedom. Observing this potential is what will enable him to perceive where he is on his journey towards his destiny. Freedom provides the yardstick to gauge where a person stands vis-vis his goals and hence the discipline to make on course corrections.

When a child is free, his progress towards independence is not only faster but also more complete because he also imbibes the discipline to exercise the independence in a constructive way. Independence, in simple terms, is the ability to take care of oneself in the various facets of life physical, intellectual and emotional. Freedom fosters independence. Independence fosters discipline.

Physical independence is the ability to take care of oneself in his immediate world. It is the key to self-reliance. When a child is free to be a sensory explorer, he acquires the cache of skills needed to be physically independent. He learns to judge his own physical abilities; he learns to discern his environment; he learns the discipline of learning what is expected of him to fit into his immediate world. In short, he learns the mental discipline of categorizing sights, sounds, smells and textures into meaningful inputs and thus tailoring his actions around these.

Intellectual

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