1KHO 499: What Have We Done to Childhood? | Dr. Peter Gray, Free to Learn

The 1000 Hours Outside Podcast

Ginny Yurich

Parenting, Kids & Family

4.9 • 1.8K Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 64 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

What Have We Done to Childhood? That’s the question at the heart of this gripping conversation with Dr. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn and one of the world’s foremost researchers on human development and education. In his fourth appearance on the podcast, Dr. Gray unpacks how cultural shifts—from agricultural hierarchies to today’s anxiety-fueled overprotection—have stripped childhood of its most essential ingredients: freedom, trust, agency, and play. What we call “normal” now—overscheduling, overcontrol, and constant performance pressure—would be unrecognizable, even unthinkable, in every previous era of human history. This is one of the most urgent and thought-provoking episodes we’ve ever released. It explores the deep cost of replacing play with programming, curiosity with curriculum, and independence with obedience. We don’t need more rigor—we need restoration. If we want to raise kids who are emotionally healthy, socially competent, and equipped for a rapidly shifting world, it starts by asking hard questions. What have we done to childhood? And what can we still do to get it back? ** Check out Dr. Peter Grays Substack here Get your copy of Free to Learn here A huge thank you to our sponsors! Check them ALL out below: Geviti: Visit https://www.gogeviti.com/1000hoursoutside for 20% off your first three months of membership! Active Skin Repair: Visit www.ActiveSkinRepair.com to learn more about Active Skin Repair and their commitment to 1% for the planet and use code: 1000hours to save 20% on all Active Skin Repair products Select Quote: Head to www.selectquote.com/1000hours to learn more. BetterHelp: Visit www.BetterHelp.com/1000HOURS today to get 10% off your first month. Fay Nutrition: Visit www.FayNutrition.com/1000HOURS to see if you qualify for a dietitian for $0 CRU: Visit give.cru.org/hour to sign up for a $24 monthly gift, and receive a free copy of Until The Streetlights Come On Reliefband - Get 20% off plus free shipping at www.reliefband.com/1000hours Quince - Visit www.quince.com/outside and get free shipping and 365 day returns Kaeluma - Visit jesusfilm.org/kaeluma-outside to listen, learn more, or access discussion guides and other bonus content! Acorns Early - Visit www.acornsearly.com/outside to learn more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is a huge week on the 1000 Hours Outside podcast. Today's episode is number 499 and tomorrow we hit 500.
0:09.3	What started as a quiet little podcast is now the number two parenting podcast in the entire United States and I am just blown away by what has happened here.
0:17.7	Thank you for being a part of it. If this podcast or any of my books have helped you
0:22.1	in any way, what a great week to take a moment and leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
0:28.5	Amazon, Goodreads, wherever you have found encouragement. Your reviews help others find this message
0:33.6	and truly they all make so much difference. And if you haven't yet, this is the perfect
0:37.9	time to buy my new book, homeschooling. You're doing it right just by doing it. It's not just for
0:42.6	homeschoolers, it's for every parent who has ever wondered if they're doing enough. Now, today's
0:48.1	episode, I can't think of a better guest for this milestone week than Dr. Peter Gray, one of the most
0:53.7	influential voices in child development
0:55.6	today. His book, Free to Learn, helped shape my own parenting from the very beginning and rereading it now
1:01.9	over a decade after its release. I'm more convinced than ever. This is one of the most imperative books
1:07.3	for parents and teachers today. We are talking about how we got here,
1:15.1	why school-centric performance-based childhoods are doing more harm than good and what it really means to raise confident, capable kids in an uncertain world.
1:20.2	Dr. Gray is brilliant, bold, and a trusted voice in a noisy world.
1:24.8	Thank you for being here for this milestone week.
1:27.3	Here we go.
1:29.3	It's the cinematic event of the year. Critics say sensational, superb, stunning savings.
1:35.9	Are you talking about karate kid legends?
1:37.8	No, Serge is two-for-one cinematikis from Coppa's market. A spectacular offer.
1:42.8	So? That you can use to see Karate Kid Legends only in cinemas.
1:47.3	I'll get my headburn.
	...

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