为什么荷兰父母把孩子丢在树林里

为什么荷兰父母把孩子丢在树林里

I'll admit I've always been a protective mom. I held my son's hand on the way to the bus stop, was picky about which playdates he could go to and, when he got older, made him text when he got to his destination safely.

我承认我一直是个保护孩子的母亲。在去公交车站的路上，我牵着儿子的手，对他可以去哪些游乐场所挑挑拣拣，等他长大了，等他安全到达目的地时，我还会给他发短信。

We tend to be helicopter parents in the United States, but in the Netherlands, parents take a different approach.

在美国，我们往往是直升机父母，但在荷兰，父母们采取了不同的方式。

For the Dutch 'dropping' ritual, kids might wander in the woods for several hours before they find their way back. (Photo: Stefano Carella/Shutterstock)

"You just drop your kids into the world," novelist Pia de Jong, who has raised her children in New Jersey, told The New York Times. "Of course, you make sure they don't die, but other than that, they have to find their own way."

在新泽西抚养孩子的小说家皮娅·德容对《纽约时报》说:“把孩子送到这个世界上就行了。当然，你要确保他们不会死，但除此之外，他们必须找到自己的路。”

As Ellen Barry writes in The Times, "If this sounds a little crazy to you, it is because you are not Dutch."

正如艾伦·巴里在《纽约时报》上写的那样，“如果你觉得这听起来有点疯狂，那是因为你不是荷兰人。”

It's not like the kids are shoved out of the car and left helpless. In addition to often being followed by an adult, they wear high-visibility vests and a team leader carries a cellphone in case of emergencies. They use maps or compasses to show them the way.

又不是把孩子们从车里推出去，让他们无助。除了经常有成年人跟随外，他们还会穿上高可视性的背心，团队领导者还会随身携带手机，以备不时之需。他们用地图或圆规给他们指路。

The adventure typically takes a few hours, and the goal is to build independence.

冒险通常需要几个小时，目标是建立独立性。

When the Times story surfaced, droppings became a topic on Reddit. Commenters from other countries chimed in. Some noted that droppings are also a tradition in other countries, including Belgium.

当《纽约时报》的报道浮出水面时，这便成了Reddit上的一个话题。来自其他国家的评论也加入了进来。一些人指出，在其他国家，包括比利时，这也是一种传统。

During a dropping, kids don't have GPS to guide the way. (Photo: NadyaEugene/Shutterstock)

In the article comments, several people pointed out that although droppings are well-known in the Netherlands, most Dutch children aren't members of scouting troops and few take part in droppings.

在这篇文章的评论中，有几个人指出，虽然这个冒险在荷兰是众所周知的，但大多数荷兰儿童并不是童子军的成员，很少有人参与这个活动。

Most people who took the time to comment lauded the concept and offered their own critiques of helicopter parents. (In my defense,My kid is a very independent college student who hikes in the woods, takes mass transit and occasionally checks in with his loving mother.)

大多数花时间评论的人都称赞了这个概念，并对直升机父母提出了自己的批评。(在我的辩护中，我的孩子是一名非常独立的大学生，他会在树林里远足，乘坐公共交通工具，偶尔还会去看望他慈爱的母亲。)

Veluwe is an area in the Netherlands with many forests that are perfect for dropping. (Photo: travelfoto/Shutterstock)

As Rod Sheridan from Toronto wrote, "Developing life skills is important, yes you worry about your children however they need these skills for adulthood."

正如多伦多的罗德•谢里登所写，“发展生活技能很重要，是的，你担心你的孩子，但他们成年后需要这些技能。”