Parents League Presents: Chasing Childhood, A Film Screening

In collaboration with Lismore Road Productions, Early Steps and The Spence School, Parents League of New York presents Chasing Childhood, A Film Screening. Chasing Childhood is a feature-length documentary that explores how free play and independence have all but disappeared from kids’ lives, supplanted by relentless perfectionism leading to record rates of anxiety and depression, a situation now compounded by the pandemic. Free play, unsupervised by adults, is critical for developing essential life skills: grit, independence, and resourcefulness. Many young adults may appear more accomplished on paper, but by the time they get to college they are emotionally struggling and lacking the tools needed to live independently. 

The film explores how and why helicopter parenting became the norm in many communities across the United States, featuring experts and advocates in the area of free play including Julie Lythcott-Haims, former Stanford Dean and author of How to Raise an Adult, and Peter Gray, biological psychologist. 

In addition to viewing the film, PLNY members and Early Steps families will have the opportunity to join the Chasing Childhood filmmakers for a “talk back” conversation at the conclusion of the screening. We are excited to have you participate in what is sure to be an engaging discussion.