Give kids back the freedom to grow independently | Opinion
When I was a kid growing up in Kansas, my days didn’t start with a screen. They started with a bike ride.
I’d head out in the morning, meet up with friends, and we’d figure things out as we went — negotiating whose yard we’d play in, settling disagreements without an adult referee, finding our way home before dark.
We learned how to solve problems and take small risks long before we ever thought about it in those terms. That kind of childhood felt ordinary then. Today, it’s becoming something parents mourn. The data tells a troubling story. Rates of anxiety, depression, and social isolation among young people have risen sharply over the past decade.
Many parents see it firsthand. Teachers see it in classrooms. And kids themselves are telling us something isn’t right.
In his book The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt offers a simple but powerful explanation: we have overprotected children in the real world while under protected them in the digital one.
That rings true to me, and it’s why child safety and well-being became a central focus of our work in the Kansas Legislature this session. We took a hard look at where kids are struggling and where policy can help restore some balance. This session, the Kansas Legislature decided to do something about it.
First, we passed a bell-to-bell ban on cell phones in schools. That decision wasn’t about punishment. It was about giving kids space to focus, learn, and interact with each other face-to-face. Classrooms should be places where attention is on teachers and peers, not notifications and social media.
Second, we established a minimum amount of recess for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. For younger kids especially, unstructured play isn’t a luxury. It’s how young children build social skills, manage emotions, and develop healthy habits that last a lifetime.
We also took on the tech industry directly. The App Store Accountability Act — which we passed overwhelmingly in the Kansas Senate and now has momentum in Congress — would give parents the ability to approve app downloads prior to their children signing contracts with trillion-dollar companies.
While that effort is not yet complete, the goal is straightforward: tech platforms should take more responsibility for the environments they create for young users. Parents deserve tools and transparency, and kids deserve safer digital spaces. We plan to continue leading on this reform and are optimistic that our federal partners will join us as well.
But perhaps the most telling thing we did this session was address a problem that reveals how far our culture has drifted: the fear that letting your child play outside alone could invite a visit from child protective services.
Many Kansas parents won’t let their kids walk to a nearby park or ride a bike around the block — not because the neighborhood is dangerous, but because they’re afraid of being reported for neglect. We changed that.
Kansas law now makes clear that giving a child age-appropriate independence is not endangerment. It’s parenting.
None of these policies is a cure-all. But together, they represent a shift in how we think about childhood: less screen time, more real-world connection, more movement, more play, and more independence.
That’s not a step backward. It’s a return to something we know works. Kansas has the opportunity to lead. We can protect children where the risks are genuine while trusting parents — and kids — with the independence that healthy development requires.
The next generation deserves the kind of childhood that actually prepares them for life. That’s the kind of childhood I was fortunate to have. And it’s the kind every kid deserves.
— Sen. Chase Blasi of Wichita is majority leader of the Kansas Senate.
