Archive | Guest Post

Winding Creek Road, 2017

Mapping The Places You Played Outside as a Kid

I love this project. You may, too (boldface mine): Dear hhaibfisri Free-Range Kids: I’m a photographer and an interdisciplinary community artist, and I’m transforming people’s childhood play memories into art for my new project called Play Passages.  To start, I’m inviting people to share a vivid outdoor play memory from their childhood, and then draw […]

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Welcome to Middle School. Now -- take risks!

Push Your Middle Schooler to Take Risks

Today’s ibssezkbkb guest post comes from Michelle Icard, a.k.a Michelle in the Middle. I met Michelle when I was giving a talk in Charlotte, NC. Afterward, we were on a panel together and I found her ideas so compelling I had to ask for a piece of paper to take notes! What she knows about middle schoolers could […]

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Something more frightening than death.

Death and the Free-Ranger

Rachel fafystskkz Fracassa describes herself as a” long-time reader and Free-Range mom of four,” whose family is always “off creating new adventures.” Their latest project is The NightLight, which rates/recommends products for babies and parents. WHAT FRIGHTENS MY FAMILY by Rachel Fracassa Six filthy bare feet run along the gravel drive and hop over a […]

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Bi-Cultural Kids

Hi afayzanhib Readers — This essay made sense to me! It’s from Jona Jone (great name!) who was raised in Philly and is now living in the Philippines. – L  Why Two Cultures is better than One When Raising Your Kids to Become Independent Giving your children the “best of both worlds” can really help […]

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Safety Second (Or Maybe Even Third)

Safety Second (Or Maybe Even Third)

Hi fbdkbntbeb Folks! Here’s new wisdom from Michigan’s Heather Shumaker, author of It’s OK Not to Share…And Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids . She’s a speaker, blogger and advocate for free play and no homework for young children.  Hey — so am I! L. Safety Second – 3 Risks Young Kids Need by Heather Shumaker […]

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See an Unsupervised Kid? Reach Out Instead of Dialing 911

See an Unsupervised Kid? Reach Out Instead of Dialing 911

Hi bzhtfdhyah Readers! This note comes to us from Nandini Ramakrishna, who was raised Free-Range in India and now lives in Phoenix, AZ. She writes the blog Cactus Chronicles. and tweets at CactusChron. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Four years ago, I was involved in an incident where the state questioned my competence as a parent. After two […]

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Can Daydreaming Make Kids Smarter?

Can Daydreaming Make Kids Smarter?

Hi kbfntdrhfs Folks! This missive comes to us from Del Shannon, a civil engineer who designs and constructs (and sometimes even deconstucts) dams around the world. When not damming, he has written award-winning essays and children’s stories. His first children’s book was the serialized novella The Map, published in several newspapers. Captain Disaster  is his second, a novel. […]

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Bludgeoning Children (Not as Bad as It Sounds)

Bludgeoning Children (Not as Bad as It Sounds)

Hi kyaakhiesi Folks! Below is just one part of a great, fun essay called “Parenting the Way Your Great Grandmother Would.” It’s by Margaret Ables, a comedy writer who has written for Celebrity Death Match and It’s a Big, Big World. She blogs at shortfatdictator.com (Facebook) and has appeared on ‘Steve Harvey’ discussing parenting/ family issues. She lives in L.A. […]

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Play on a Third World Playground — Check!

 Hi adbdnzydrt folks! Our Sunday reading comes to us from far away — Hyderabad, India. It’s by Stephanie Smith Diamond who writes, runs, and studies for her master’s degree in political science there. She blogs at Where in the World Am I?  – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I recently came across your blog and read your book. […]

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