SIMSBURY, CT—Saying they wanted their daughter to follow her passions, the parents of 8-year-old Kaylee Maxwell told reporters Monday that they strongly encourage all of her interests that are within a 15-minute drive. “We want Kaylee to pursue what makes her happy, whether that’s music, dance, rock climbing, martial arts—as long as it’s the taekwondo place by the mall, and not karate, which is in Farmington—whatever her heart desires,” said Kaylee’s mother, Jennifer Maxwell, adding that she would gladly take her daughter to any necessary meetings or practices that happened to be located on her drive to work. “Anything in the world that’s eight, maybe nine miles away that expands her horizons is definitely something we want to support. And if it’s something that she can do with one of her friends in the neighborhood whose parents are willing to carpool, all the better.” The Maxwells admitted, however, that they were actively discouraging their daughter from a small handful of potentially dangerous extracurriculars, such as mountain biking, snowboarding, and similar activities for which they’d have to constantly fold down the backseat to accommodate equipment.

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