Bravery In Mom, Son, and Chick-fil-A

By now you have probably see this great video, below. Not yet? Well, you’re in for a heartwarming couple of minutes: Utah mom Stephanie Read read The Anxious Generation, got to the chapters I helped out with (the ones for parents and schools), and took them to heart. As she told Instagram:

“At the end they have this challenge, like, let your kid do something without a parent…so it can build confidence for them.”

That’s literally The Let Grow Experience, where the assignment for kids is: “Do something new, on your own, WITH your parents’ permission but WITHOUT your parents! (Here’s the free version for parents, and the free version for schools!) When Stephanie asked her kids what they wanted to do, Wells, 7, said: go into Chick-fil-A and order by himself. (Please keep scrolling underneath the Insta post, which I couldn’t crop):

What’s greatest about this video is…everything:

The fact the mom worried…but let him go anyway.

The fact her son LOVED the whole thing…even though he was so nervous, afterward his legs were “STILL SHIVERING.”

The fact that the mom didn’t give him a phone!

The fact that her son wants to do it AGAIN!

And most of all: The fact the mom put this out there for the world to see.

At Let Grow — the nonprofit that grew out of Free-Range Kids — we get to see this process every day: Parents tell us their stories. Schools share their students’ Let Grow Experiences. It’s always so sunny. Once a parent lets go and their child kid does something on their own, both generations are so proud and happy! The joy muscles out the fear.

Stephanie Read gave up her own comfort for a little stretch so her son could GROW. Then she got to see it with her own eyes. What a reward! And watching one mom do this can inspire so many more — like this one, Ericka Andersen!

We’re thrilled that Stephanie’s story has reached millions, and so has the reality: Letting your kid do something on their own is one of the greatest gifts you can give them.