McClellan Introduces Bill to Promote Childhood Independence

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan (VA-04) introduced bipartisan legislation to promote childhood independence and protect parents who allow their children to play outside unsupervised, get off screens and develop social skills.

Representatives Blake Moore (R-UT) and Virginia Foxx (R-NC) are original co-leads of this legislation.

Today, more than ever before, children are spending time indoors, on screens and alone rather than playing outside and socializing with other kids. This has caused increased anxiety, depression, and a lack of social skills. A study by the Institute for Family Studies found that American kids spend enormous amounts of time online with very few significant restrictions. Yet they have very strict limits on their activities in the real world. The study also found that the key factor in determining whether or not children have rich social lives with their friends is simply how much freedom parents allow them.

ThePromoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act underlines state efforts, including in Virginia, to promote a freer, healthier childhood. It clarifies the definition of "neglect" to ensure parents aren't punished for allowing independent play - a critical component of childhood development. This legislation also requires a study by the Department of Health and Human Services on how states can best empower parents; pushes states to train child welfare staff; and ensures that grants to states for child abuse or neglect prevention can be used to educate child welfare staff on the importance of reasonable independence activities.

"In an increasingly digital world, our kids and teenagers spend less time exploring independent play and more time online," Congresswoman McClellan said. "The Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act will help chart a new path forward by encouraging children to participate in reasonable independent activities, promoting time outside with in-person socialization. At a pivotal time for children's development, we must equip our next generation with the tools to thrive in adulthood."

"Neighborhood games, park days, errands, and bike rides with friends defined my childhood. Now raising my own boys, it's clear that parents are too often forgoing unstructured activities for youth in favor of indoor time on screens," Congressman Moore said. "We must restore the normalcy of outdoor exploration and protect parents who want to give their children more freedom to safely play unsupervised. While there are numerous pieces to this puzzle, we must ensure that parents aren't acting out of fear of a child welfare report or investigation. Parents shouldn't be judged for doing what is best for their kids; we need to make things easier on American parents, not increasingly harder. The Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act ensures that reasonable unsupervised activities do not constitute child neglect and educates child welfare agencies about the salience of independent activity. It's time we empower parents to help the next generation play outside, get off screens, and learn independence and responsibility-just like my childhood memories, the time to come home is when the neighborhood parents yell, 'Come on home boys!'"

"The formative years of a child's life are meant to help build skills and develop an intricate understanding of the world around them - those years are meant to be spent far from screens. Parents who seek to instill independence in their children, whether it be in routines or simple activities away from screens, deserve to do so freely and without outdated and incompatible child welfare standards threatening their parental rights. I'm proud to support the Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act that will bring back a healthy dose of common sense to child welfare in our nation," Congresswoman Foxx said.

"'I'm not afraid of my kid getting kidnapped. I'm afraid of someone seeing my kid outside and calling Child Protective Services!' I hear that far too often from decent, loving parents. They've heard stories of parents investigated for letting their kids walk to the store, or go to the park. So they second-guess themselves even when they know their kids are ready to do some things on their own, including playing outside! Excess overprotection has been disastrous for kids' mental health. As independence has gone down, anxiety has gone up. There's a risk in trying to eliminate all risk. We've helped pass Reasonable Childhood Independence laws in 13 states, and this federal effort is an important step toward giving families the clarity and confidence they need. We're grateful to Reps. Moore and McClellan for their leadership," saidLenore Skenazy, President and Co-Founder, Let Grow.

Read the one-pager here. Read the bill text here.