CLEVELAND — There's a hit show on Netflix that puts toddlers into real-world adult situations to see if they are up to the task.
It's called Old Enough and there's a lot of buzz about it lately.
Kids as young as age 2 running errands alone, fixing meals and delivering items to adults. This has us all talking: Are our little ones actually "old enough"? Are we doing something wrong as a society?
In today’s Mom Squad, we figured there's only one way to find out.
“I think as a society, this is kind of a neat show to back up the truck a little bit and say, 'Should we be doing more of this?'" says Dr. Carolyn Ivers-Landis with Universal Hospitals Rainbow Babies Medical Center.
She says -- as American parents -- we tend to "helicopter," which doesn't teach our kids life lessons.
“I think that this really builds a sense of self competence and it builds pride that they can do these things that I see teenagers that struggle with these things now,” says Ivers-Landis. “If we do everything for our kids, they're not learning to problem solve for themselves.”
We figured since we have a few 3-year-old kids within the WKYC family -- let's put them to the test. We have Etta at the Bay Village Heinen's and Jax over in Strongsville.
We as the moms stand at the front of the store as the kids remember their short list of items to get and run around trying to find them. During the experiment, both kids needed to come back and ask questions about where items were located, but within an hour they are both able to fill their carts.
But this wasn't about shopping -- and in Dr. Ivers-Landis’ opinion: Mission accomplished.
“Did you notice how the children were so proud at the end? And just that feeling of pride and the parent shared in that and it was such a positive experience.”
To listen to the podcast where Maureen Kyle and Jenny Jordan discuss what they learned by sending their toddlers shopping and the entire conversation with Dr. Ivers-Landis, you can download the Mom Squad Pod anywhere you get your podcasts.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in a previous Mom Squad on April 19, 2022.