HomeTown – Neighborhood Development

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My children grew up on a private cul-de-sac lane in a suburban community. There were three keys to its success for children:

1. The lane was private – the neighbors owned and controlled it together.
2. A stranger who drove down it had to turn around and drive back out, knowing that there was probably someone in one of those houses watching him.
3. It was short, so cars couldn't speed.

A few years ago I asked my 27-year-old daughter: where was your favorite place to play when you were 7 or 8? She said: In the street.

I said, "Weren't you afraid of cars?"

She said – now you have to get the body language of this 27-year-old mother of two - "Oh no dad, we owned the street". It was a reflective, automatic response to her range and reign as a child.

Did you get that – "Oh no, we owned the street." I remember driving home after work - it looked like a war zone - there were bikes and tricycles and big wheels and wagons strewn like carnage all along the lane.

Jamie and Shari had an ever-increasing free range within which they could exercise their will without adult supervision - translate that adult management, translate that adult control. Along with their spiritual training, I think this largely explains why they are both creative, free-spirited, willful adults today, they had lots of practice starting from a young age.

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