Children who are free
Children who socialize without parental or other adult supervision, sometimes very far from their home, are called “Free Range Children.” In essence, the child believes that he or she now has control over how they live their lives. They push the boundaries of freedom until they are restricted by a parent or guardian.
You may be familiar with a well-known television commercial that features a traveling chicken hen. The farmer said, “She just keeps sending pictures,” as he received the latest in a series of letters from his chicken in which she described what she had seen and included a “selfie” photo of herself in front of what she described.
A free range chicken is one that can roam the farm, eat tasty insects, wild seed, and gravel, and then grind what it eats in its craw (as all birds do). Each hen gets a single house or coop with a nest from the farmer—or the hen builds the nest. The hen roams the farm as she pleases, but she usually returns to her coop at night to sleep and protect herself from predators at night.
Surprisingly, raising free-ranging children leaves a lot of time for absent parents (except when the kids get into trouble). The children typically eat at home, but not always during family meal times. Farming free range chickens requires more effort on the part of the farmer, primarily due to the fact that free range chickens can choose where to lay their eggs and appear to be aware that hiding eggs increases the likelihood of chick hatching. Because free rangers eat wild food and only use commercial feed to supplement their diet, the farmer pays less to feed them.
Chickens and children who are allowed to roam free run the risk of harm. Predators and road kills are likely to cause the farmer to lose more chickens. The parent is not there to safeguard free-range children from road kills or human predators. Though individual opinions may differ, free-range children typically have a better chance of “launching” and avoiding couch potatoes as adults. Chickens raised outdoors will be leaner and more muscular than the “couch potato chickens” you’ll find at the grocery store. Weight of chicken meat is sold, but since free-range chickens taste better than overfat chickens, they typically fetch a higher price.
Governments have enacted stricter laws over time to protect children and impose stereotypical rules of behavior on parents. Today, the idea of allowing children—especially those under the age of ten—to leave their homes whenever they please seems absurd. However, there is ample evidence to suggest that the practice was prevalent in the past, even if one does not go back very far (to the 1950s and earlier). Children were trusted to carry out tasks that they had been taught to do and were able to handle, especially on farms, where they sometimes had to work early in the morning on land that was different from the farmhouse (not all farmland is in one location).
Are free-range children’s parents bad or irresponsible? The majority of commentators will respond today with “Yes.” Is this a sign that the parents do not care about or love their children? Today’s majority of commentators would also answer “yes” to that. Because I was raised in a natural environment, I have mixed feelings about it. Although I placed moral, ethical, and Christian constraints on my choices as I entered adulthood, I perceived no constraints on where I might go or what I might do. I have lived on five continents thus far.
Genesis 3 of web research: 22-24. The first man and woman were loved by God, but he would not let them disobey him. Does he see how he freed them to roam east of Eden? Did God cease to love them? No.” Read Genesis 4:1 to learn that Eve praised God for giving birth to Cain, her first child. Continue reading Genesis to learn more about God’s involvement in Adam and Eve’s expanding family outside of Eden. Free-ranging generations of children grew apart from God over time and even forgot that he was there.
Search the web and read Matthew 14 carefully: 13-21. Do you notice any interesting nuances? Together with women and children, the number of hungry people probably reached sixteen thousand. After giving thanks to God for the food he had (2 fish and 5 loaves), Jesus gave those to his disciples so that they could all be fed. Jesus was the Son of God, but he was also a God-man hybrid. During his three years of ministry, even the tiniest human doubt would have derailed his dedication to God. Jesus must have been constantly tempted, and if you read his story, you’ll see that God did not spare him from suffering like other people. Jesus was certain that God would provide food for the people in this passage. That event was amazing! It gained widespread attention. Matthew was one of four of the twelve disciples who recorded their memories in writing.
Take careful note of verse 20. A basket containing bread and leftover fish was brought back to Jesus by each of his twelve disciples. It was too much for the thousands to eat! But what was the point of all of this? It was a message to every disciple that God is generous and loves them. Faith in God’s willingness to assist you and your life was demonstrated by Jesus to his disciples.
