What does a Shrub have to do with The Balance Project?
By Holly Moscatiello - 8/8/25
Go with me on this journey…
There is more and more discussion on the role of independence in a healthy, balanced modern childhood. Independence is linked to giving kids greater confidence, problem-solving skills and resilience.
And these skills — especially resilience — are foundational to strong mental health and are natural protectors against anxiety and depression.
In a recent review, there was a unanimous finding that “higher levels of resilience are related to fewer mental health problems”, even despite differences in study populations and instruments.
I still don’t get it. How does this connect to TBP and how are the shrubs involved?
Well, a major piece of The Balance Project is to focus on the “life” part of the equation - e.g. supporting and encouraging age-appropriate and family-approved childhood independence, responsibility and free play to build up these skills and set our kids up for a happier, more full life in the real world.
And we know based on research, that walking or riding bikes is one of the simplest ways to give our kids age-appropriate independence. But we also know that can be intimidating for parents and children alike.
So, we’ve developed our Stride & Ride program, which provides tools for parents and raises awareness about how walking or biking is a way to gradually build kids’ confidence, independence and supports their overall happiness & health
OK, we’re getting closer…
As the kids head back to school, we want to make sure their routes are as optimized as possible for smooth sailing.
For example, if there is a SHRUB in the way of your child’s path (or another obstacle, challenge or issue), we’d love to get it taken care of, so you don’t need to worry about this when thinking about what your family is comfortable with.
To that end, we’ve created a quick and simple way for you to communities to anonymously highlight areas around town that could use attention and provide suggestions for how to optimize.
We’ll consolidate this feedback and will share with Town Councils across the country.
Our hope is that there are some “quick wins” that can be addressed before school starts and that we can work with towns to get a plan in place for working through ongoing feedback and some of the longer-term items identified as well.