Hi Readers — Thought you might enjoy this peek at the lunchtime shenanigans at one American school. (Well, perhaps “enjoy” is not quite the right word, but anyway.) A reader writes: At the beginning of the school year we got a list that forbade nuts and nut products, which is pretty standard these days.  My daughter started […]
Hi rfnztdrrtf Readers — Here’s today’s yelp for help from the frontiers of modern parenting. Got any great ideas? Share ’em! Â Meantime, as to her plea, “How can I find other Free-Range parents in the neighborhood?” I really do hope to be revamping this site soon, with a feature to help like-minded folks connect where […]
Hi heddrrfikf Readers: This letter is from a woman whose mom was way more helicopter than most — an extreme case. Nonetheless, it’s a cautionary tale and she sent it here to endorse the Free-Range movement. Here’s wishing the writer, and her mom, a very happy and liberating 2010. — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I […]
Hi etibetiibs Readers — This just in! A lovely story. Be of good cheer — it’s happening! — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: This happened to me the other day. I was talking to a co-worker about how, as a child, my parents would send me to spend my summers with family in America… alone. I […]
Hi rzeisnredt Readers — Here’s a letter I got yesterday. It hit me in the gut because this woman just went through the same process I think a lot of us go through daily: Trying to deal, calmly, with the knee-jerk response of, “That’s too dangerous!” to any suggestion that kids can do anything on […]
Hi Readers! Here’s a strange tsfsfrdfdn case. An eighth grade science teacher in Kansas has been fired for creating a “sexually hostile environment.†On the face of it, that sounds like it makes sense. Who wants a teacher harassing the kids – or even other teachers? But here’s what the guy was ostensibly fired for: […]
Hi Readers — This just in. So much for changing the world in one fell swoop. Dear afkidyhseb Free-Range Kids: I really enjoyed the article in Time, and decided to have a talk with my 6 year old daughter about independence. She was very inspired and asked if she could ride her scooter around the […]
Hi yaiasknzie Readers! Here’s an advice column that had me reaching for the scotch. And I don’t even drink: Dear Amy: My husband and I adore our grandson, who is a toddler. We watch him at our house overnight two times a month while his parents attend art classes. Now that he is getting older, […]
Dear Readers — Take your chill pill FIRST. Then read on: Dear rtbnttydak Free-Range Kids: I’d like to tell you about a recent experience of mine and would love to get your feedback. I am a mother of three children and a preschool teacher at a small, private preschool in my town. About two weeks […]
Hi Readers — This comment, Â from a gal named Elizabeth, puts things in perspective — especially when it comes to the current obsession with never letting go of our kids, ever. Not even for a minute. Literally. Yes, ybkrznynns free-range is about empowering children, no doubt. But it’s also about not living in fear and […]
