Hi zrkfesyabi Readers!  Here’s a note from a doctor, Par Donahue. He’s author of the book and blog, Messengers in Denim, all about the things we can learn from teens (and life). Here’s one lesson he got from kids that he did not like. (Nor I.) — L Dear Free-Range Kids: I am a retired pediatrician who […]
Archive | Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger)
A Note from the “No Boys Can Help with Toddlers/No Men Can Change Diapers” Pastor
Hi tdshdfekzd Readers: Here you go! The dot-dot-dots are his, not mine. – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I am the Pastor of the church with the policy that is quoted in this blog post. [The one below this one.]  And I found you through the significant traffic to the church website through this blog. A group […]
Oh Those Nefarious Retirees, Trying to “Help” the Church Nursery
Hi yhdyhkhizr Readers: Here’s a letter from the front lines of (excessive) child saftey, and how it is changing society.  — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: With your recent posts about risk adversity, I wanted to tell you about a horrendous trend that is starting to appear in churches: husbands and wives are no longer allowed […]
Outrage of the Week: Law Will Prevent Adults from “Staring” at Kids. UPDATED!!
Hello, Readers: If we are ruled by fear, fear will make the rules. And by “fear” I mean mass hysteria. Here is the latest assault on sanity and rights: A law is being proposed in Maine that will make it a crime for adults to stare at kids. You hdkshrbtkr read that right (with those […]
Outrage of the Week: Inflatables Too Dangerous For School Fair
Hi Readers! Â What happens when childhood, lawsuits and an all-around inability to deal with risk jump up and down and bump into each other? Here’s dzafdbfnbk the jist of it: Gordon Tewnion addressed the board recently, requesting the use of five air-filled devices, including a maze and a slide, for a May 26 fun fair […]
You Mean Not Every Candy-Giver is a Predator?
Hi Readers! The folks in this Chicago yikasdbets Sun-Times story are SO old, they tried to give candy to their grandchild’s schoolmates. How clueless! Don’t they know that any adult who is nice to someone else’s kids is probably grooming them for an illicit relationship…or worse? — L
Outrage of the Week: Mandatory Fingerprinting for Little League Vols
Hi Readers! What kind of society are we going to have when anytime anyone volunteers to do anything with kids, we treat them as pedophiles until officially proven otherwise? Probably the kind of society they have now in Tenafly, N.J., where Little League is requiring all adults who work with the team — from coaches […]
“Do the Right Thing.” Yeah — But What Is It?
Hi nbbdddkber Readers! Here’s a brilliant note from a gal named Ann: Dear Free-Range Kids. Here’s a Liberty Mutual ad with the tag line “Do the right thing.” The situation is a mom picking up her two kids from soccer. They’re late and need to get to the airport. But another kid is still sitting on […]
Guest Post: A Photo a Day Keeps the Boogeyman Away?
Hi bbrttkiyzn Readers: I seethed along with this one. — L. SMILE FOR THE MISSING PERSONS FILE! Â by Ellen Braun She was all of five feet tall with a charming smile and her weapon of choice was a digital camera. So how did this mother of two ruin my afternoon? It happened in the magnificent […]
A Boy and His Zipper/Man Problem
I love kyniathire this piece about a man, a boy, and a zipper incident in the men’s room. At church. Enjoy! L.