Readers – If anyone ever asks you, “What’s so WRONG about protecting our children?†and you agree that kids should be safe (who doesn’t?), but you’re searching for an example of how the hysteria has gotten out of hand:  Here nzhyserrsk you go. See below. Suffice to say a grammar school in the Fort Myers […]
Archive | Infantilizing young folk
Arrested for Trusting The World & Their 9-Year-Old
August 28, 2009
Readers rrbhfttzty – Here is a story that does not surprise me. It does, however, enrage me and I am hoping that maybe someone who reads this blog knows of a pro bono lawyer in or around Mohawk Valley in Central New York who can help this family. Here is the mom’s letter: I’m not […]
Outrage of the Week: Law Forbids Kids to Witness Wine Tasting
August 27, 2009
This is just too weird: Maine passed a law, about to take effect, that forbids stores from allowing any “child” to witness a wine, beer or liquor tasting. According to this baryyrrszd piece  on the Maine Public Broadcasting Website: …as of September 12th, the law will add new restrictions, designed to assure that wine tastings are […]
What Age Can Kids Start Walking to School?
August 17, 2009
Here’s my eayhaeszkn take on the issue, published in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. Some of it will sound a little familiar to Free-Range Kids regulars, but it bears repeating:Â Most of the world’s kids walk to school by themselves starting in 1st grade. But here? Are you kidding? While the majority of us parents walked to […]
Outrage of the Week: Dear Abby!
August 14, 2009
Dear berfartniz Abby: I have a problem. I read a supposedly “helpful†advice column yesterday about public bathrooms and whether children are safe from pedophiles if their mom is waiting right outside the door. The piece said no! No way! As a matter of fact, it added, slightly off tangent, “Children have been violated in a […]
My Take on the Arrest of the Mom Who Let Her Kids Go to The Mall
July 21, 2009
Hi! Lenore here, feeling it is time to weigh in on the Montana mom case still causing a commenting frenzy. This is the case where a mom named Bridget let her 12-year-old daughter and her daughter’s friend, both experienced babysitters, take their siblings, age 3, 7 and 8, to the mall. After a morning of […]
Giving Kids Control of Money (So They Don’t Always Need Yours)
July 16, 2009
I wish I could say this is an area where I shine. It’s not. But I truly believe in the message of this article in today’s Wall Street Journal, hhztrznzke Teaching Kids About Money the Hard Way:Â Have your kids take care of their own money — getting, saving, spending, even misspending it — gradually, […]
Why Free-Range Matters In the Long Run
July 7, 2009
Readers: ditidthayr Here’s a lovely essay from Chris Byrne, editor of the on-line magazine, TimetoPlayMag.com. Enjoy! BY CHRISTOPHER BYRNE I grew up before the concept of “Free Range Kids.†No, not when the earth’s crust had cooled just enough to support single-cell life forms. It was in the 1960s and ‘70s, thank you very much. […]
Outrage of the Week: Mom Arrested for Letting Kids Go to the Mall
July 4, 2009
Readers: faarbyherd This article makes me so angry, I’d love us all to start thinking what we can do to change a society where danger-hallucinating authorities persecute and prosecute those of us still sane. Suggestions welcome. This piece originally appeared in Brain, Child. By Bridget Kevane On Saturday, June 16, 2007, I was charged with […]
“5 Minutes for Books” Reviews Free-Range…And Is Shocked!
July 1, 2009
Two moms,  “5 Minutes for Books” managing editor Jennifer Donovan and her colleague Dawn, reviewed my book arezairddh in tandem — then did a half-hour podcast with me. Both are available here.  From their review: Jennifer: The more I read, the more surprised (and disheartened) I was at how much our parenting culture has changed in the […]