I’d like my child to waste some time

Parenting today is unlike anything from the past. We are not simply aiming to raise children who are decent, happy, and capable of coping in the real world, but to optimize every moment they spend on earth. Modern parenting demands that we feed, house, love, guide, and carefully curate our children's experiences, ensuring they eat right, excel academically, have good friends, play an instrument, participate in a team sport, and avoid screens and sugar.

Even play is now labeled as "free play" and must fit into a strict schedule. Parents are under immense pressure to schedule, supervise, monitor, enrich, and improve their children's lives.

This modern mindset is rooted in fear of the unknown and the fear that other children will outpace and outperform our own. We see the optimization culture around us and worry that other children will succeed while ours will fall behind. This anxiety is central to modern parenting.

However, the future is uncertain, especially with the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence. We cannot accurately predict which skills and achievements will be valuable in the future. Many currently prized achievements, such as perfect recall and conventional academic superiority, may soon become obsolete. It is time for society to step back from the unrealistic standards we set for children and allow them to experience uncertainty.

Allowing children to have the occasional TV marathon or "waste" time on school holidays is healthy and necessary. We must learn to accept that sometimes just being is okay, and that we cannot guarantee the rewards of every activity. Instead, we should hope that children develop the flexibility and adaptability to thrive in an unpredictable future. Uncertainty is a fundamental part of being human, and preparing children for it is one of the most important things we can do for them.