One of the biggest dilemmas facing parents today is finding the balance between letting “kids be kids” and getting them ready for the so-called “real world”. If you’re a parent yourself, you’ve probably struggled with this issue wondering if you should enroll your child in Mandarin classes or just let them watch Paw Patrol for hours on end.
Actress Julia Fox weighed in one this issue when she shared some of her parenting opinions online and it’s safe to say it sparked some interesting conversations.
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Julia Fox took to TikTok recently to share some of her insights on modern parenting.
The actress and model is best known for her daring fashion sense , and her role in the Netflix movie Uncut Gems where she starred opposite Adam Sandler.
Julia is also a mom to her 19-month-old son, Valentino.
She shares her son with her ex-husband Peter Artemiev.
In a recent video posted to her TikTok, Julia shared her thoughts on modern childhood and teaching kids how to be independent.
Starting off, Julia explains how the concept of childhood is relatively new.
“The concept of childhood was only invented in the 18th century. Prior to that, children were just regarded as little adults,” she says.
What Julia is likely referring to is the acceptance of child labor laws around that time which made it illegal for children to work, especially in dangerous conditions. However, the actress went on to say the real reason why she thinks childhood was “invented”:
“I think that the idea of childhood was invented as a way to just get parents to spend a lot of money on [expletive] that kids don’t [need].”
Julia went on to say that her own son isn’t interested in toys.
She said he’s more interested in mimicking the activities she does and encouraged other parents to teach their kids “life skills”.
“I suggest everyone buy their kid a little mini mop, a mini broom and start teaching them those life skills really young,” she said.
Julia’s video quickly racked up 2.6-million views and generated lots of conversations online.
Many took her comments to mean that kids should spend their childhoods working instead of playing. It didn’t take long for some to troll the actress with comments like, “I make my toddler file my taxes.”
However, some understood that Julia was basically describing the idea of Montessori education.
Montessori education puts an emphasis on independent learning and learning through role play. In Montessori schools, children learn through open-ended activities instead of the traditional methods like repetition or memorization.
Overall, it seems that people agreed with some aspects of Julia’s video.
Fans online agreed children do need to be taught skills for the real world but they also need time to play. It’s all about finding a balance.
h/t Buzzfeed
