It’s important to give children independence from an early age

Mareike Graepel has no problem letting her eight-year-old daughter walk to school with three other girls from her class and return on her own if they stay over for lunch.

YEARS ago, we brought our first-born daughter to California on a holiday — to be utterly surprised at the parenting tips we received on beaches and campsites, all advising us to protect our child more.

With curiosity, I recently came across Achtung, Baby, the book by American author Sara Zaske (expected to be published later this year), who in turn was stunned by the sheer und utter laissez faire she experienced among parents in Berlin.