Free-range parenting advocate and author Lenore Skenazy notes in the July feature that a major cause of the increase in anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts among young people in recent decades is “correlated to the continuous decline in opportunities for children to play and roam independently from their parents and caregivers.” Gulp.

So, this summer, counteract your urge to overprotect and give your kiddos the freedom to develop confidence and resilience the natural way: through unstructured, unsupervised, child-directed play. We’ve got plenty of play inspiration for the whole family in our July Play List, annual Insiders’ Guide and more. (And, psst! How about a summer date night for all you deserving moms and dads?)