"Feral Child Summer" is a Nostalgic '90s Trend Coming to a Childhood Near You

For the past few decades, older generations have blasted younger parents for "micro-managing" and "over-planning" the childhoods of their kids.

For a while there, if you didn't have your child enrolled in enough back-to-back activities to occupy every minute of their day, you were getting the stank eye from other parents.

But now, younger millennials and older Gen Z are embracing an older approach to parenting, called "feral child summer" and sharing the results on TikTok. It's a throwback to the '90s, and it embraces a much more carefree way to spend those hot summer months.

Here's what we know about the meaning behind the "feral child summer" trend, as well as how one expert feels about it.

For most people who are in their mid-twenties and older, looking back on their childhood is like looking back on an entirely different world. Things were slower, people were more patient, and nobody's schedules were as jam-packed as they have become over the past few decades.

You might spend the summer learning softball or attending camp, but you certainly didn't have something to do every second of the day.

"Feral child summer" is simply a return to those days of unplanned hours and free time. Allowing children to find their own things to do, harness their imagination and creativity, and explore their existence without a solution to boredom.

It was how pretty much every childhood was before the 2010s, and parents today are saying goodbye to over-planned summers and hello to freedom and feral children.

For many, the "feral child summer" includes shedding bedtimes, schedules, and even sometimes throwing meal planning out the window. Some parents are incorporating unlimited screen time, while others are banning it altogether and encouraging their kids to go outside. There's no one-size-fits-all approach to the trend, and that's the whole point. It's supposed to be carefree, natural, and fit your child's individual needs.

While some people are clutching their pearls in horror over the trends, one expert believes it's something all parents should consider. Hannah Keeley, a parenting pro with a background in behavioral therapy and neuroscience, told Hello! Magazine that it's beneficial to kids to let them go feral during the summer.

When asked to define it, Hannah explained, "Think backyard chaos, creativity from boredom, and building confidence with dirt and scraped knees."

She then shared several reasons why parents should consider a feral summer, including the fact that kids often get structural fatigue during a highly regimented school year, and they need to be bored occasionally to spark their imagination and problem-solving skills.

Hannah shared, "Letting your kids go a little wild doesn’t mean you’re neglecting them — in fact, it means you’re giving everyone room to breathe."

She added, "It's less about doing more, and more about being present for the real, messy, joy-filled moments that actually matter."

Which sounds like the perfect summer plan to us. Whether or not you have a backyard and a lot of space to let your child go feral in, the idea that kids can and should have free time to learn how to fill on their own is a foundational concept that can help throughout their life.