Archive | 2020

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Let’s Pass Some More Free-Range Parenting Laws in 2021!

Let’s hope that 2021 is the year several states pass Reasonable Childhood Independence / Free-Range Parenting bills, as Utah did in 2018. Right now, it’s looking good in Idaho, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas and possibly Nebraska. This year in Colorado a Democrat and a Republican co-sponsored a Reasonable Childhood Independence bill. The two women were […]

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A Banner Year (Except for That One Little Thing…)

Podcasts, laws, eyeballs — Let Grow, the nonprofit that grew out of Free-Range Kids, had an amazing year on so many different fronts. We found bi-partisan support for our “Reasonable Childhood Independence Bill” in Colorado (a story to be continued), we got millions of views of our videos and posts, and I personally got to […]

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You Sled, You’re Dead: Basically The Message Parents are Getting

A friend who was noodling around the AccuWeather site today found a blog post, “Why Have Midwestern Towns Banned a Beloved  Winter Pastime?” The piece, which seems like it might just sit in a slush pile on AccuWeather’s newsdesk and await recycling every snow season, discusses a few horrible sledding injury lawsuits that drained the […]

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When Is It Legal for My Kid To Walk Outside Without Me?

This op-ed of mine originally appeared in the NY Daily News on Dec. 19: “I’m thinking of letting my 8-year-old walk to her friend’s apartment. It’s literally one block. But I’m not sure if she’ll get stopped, or if she’s too young, or…” My neighbor’s voice trailed off as he worried about someone mistaking his […]

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High Achieving Kids Caught in the Performance Trap

Austin Educator Mike Yates had a mom who would accept nothing lower than an A when he was in school. He managed to bring these home, but perhaps not that surprisingly he went on to become an education entrepreneur, changing the way school is taught and success is measured. His piece on “When Students Get […]

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jessie thompson crosswalk

Principal Defies Mom Who Wants Her Kids to Walk Home by Themselves

Jessie Thompson’s kids, ages 9, 10 and 11, would like to walk home together, but Spann Elementary School in Summerville, South Carolina, won’t let them leave without an adult. When Thompson asked if she could sign some sort of waiver, the school said no. If an adult does not pick the kids up, they must […]

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“Children Seen Walking Outside!” — Nextdoor

Why is there a Free-Range Kids movement? Why does Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence, even exist? Here’s why: “Children Walking Alone,” warned an alert I received from the social media site nextdoor just as I sat down to write this piece. “Dear Parents,” it went on. “Please have an adult accompany children ‘taking […]

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