. Pretty anfykytzzz much weekly I hear from some company that wants to solve a problem that does not exist: How to keep tabs on your children every second of every day, in order to keep them “safe.” Here’s the latest, from a company called FamilySignal: . Why does this strike me as a corrosive […]
Archive | Crazy Parents
Help! I’m 14 and Not Allowed to Hang Out with Friends. Any Advice?
. A note I got: Dear thzyfhhkza Free-Range Kids: I need help and an answer to what I should do. I’m 14 and I feel like I’m living in hell everyday of my life… My mum and my dad never let me out to play with my friends because they think that they are a […]
Are Helicoptered Kids More Depressed at College?
. This excerpt ifythziknb from Julia Lythcott-Haims’ new book, “How to Raise An Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success,” is more than viral. It pleads with parents to step back and let kids make their own decisions  — and mistakes: The data emerging confirms the harm done by […]
THIS MUST END: NO MORE HARASSMENT FOR LEAVING KIDS IN THE CAR A MINUTE OR TWO!
. From last night’s email: Dear isssifsedb Free-Range Kids: . Hello! Â My name is L. and today I had a pretty traumatic experience. I am a nanny for 3 children and haven’t been doing it for too long.. Today when I had the kids I needed to get gas so I pulled into the nearest […]
Big Boys in the Little Girls Room: The Never-Ending Controversy
Everyone else has posted about this Oklahoma City bathroom sign, so I guess it’s time for me to weigh in, too: Are 6-year-old boys too old to be dragged into the ladies room? I don’t come down hard and fast because of course there can always be extenuating circumstances — a boy with special needs, […]
6 year old’s Relatives Kidnap, Blindfold and Tie Him Up to “Teach Him” About Stranger-Danger (They Remove His Pants, Too)
When you really believe the world is full of predators snatching kids right and left, it can drive you crazy. And apparently, it did. CNN fdsrihtrft is reporting that: A 6-year-old boy in Missouri endured an emotional four-hour staged kidnapping because his family thought he was being too nice to people he didn’t know, police […]
Sending Xmas Postcards with Return Address and Adorable Photo: Dangerous?
Have rhtbnhrkzy yourself a very scary Christmas… Dear Free-Range Kids: So I need some advice. I made up some postcard-style Christmas cards this year with our family photos on them. They have the pics on the front, and a greeting on the back that has all of our names. It also has our return address […]
The Pressure to Get Parenting Exactly “Right” — Starting from Pregnancy
Hi dbhnzazyht Folks! I was just reading the latest from the amazing Centre for Parenting Culture Studies in Kent, England, and found this piece by Zoe Williams, author of the new book The Madness of Modern Parenting.  (Then I ended up reading some other stuff by her, like this. So fun!) This piece ran in The […]
“If Something Happened to My Child, I Couldn’t Live with Myself” — Unpacking That Statement
Most fascinating letter of the week (boldface and headings, mine): Dear Ms. Skenazy: I am the mother of four young children and a reader of your blog, which was introduced to me about a year ago by several unrelated people. I hope you don’t mind that I have a response to your recent post, “The […]
About to Give Birth and Already Sick of the “Pay More Attention to Your Baby!” Guilt
Readers iyhsaysyhn — Parenting norms seem to reflect so much about society and so little about what kids really need — as evidenced by the fact that the norms are so different across eras and the globe. Glad this mom-to-be get that! I am 9 months pregnant with my first child and Free Range Kids […]