Posted on May 3rd, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — Here’s a story from Australia sure to make any parent shudder: YOUNG mother Elizabeth Cardwell thought she was doing the right thing when she strapped her precious eight-week-old baby, wrapped in a blanket, into a hand-me-down car seat. Her daughter, Isabella Rose, was still tucked inside her blanket when her tiny body was [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Media Madness, Miscellaneous | 73 Comments »
Posted on May 1st, 2013 by lskenazy
Folks — As you know, this site believes in safety for children. That includes safety from predators as well as safety from hysteria ABOUT predators. Unfortunately, fear for our children has mestastasized into an ever-expanding Sex Offender Registry that now includes even pre-pubescent children, some of them on the list for LIFE, for crimes ranging [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Sex Offender Issues | 60 Comments »
Posted on April 12th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — I didn’t see the “Shooting Star” episode of Glee last night that featured a lockdown after shots rang out at the uber-musical school. (And I can’t find it on the web without going to some very scary sites that seem ready to infect my computer with high-tech herpes.) But some of you [...]
Filed under: Media Madness, Miscellaneous | 31 Comments »
Posted on April 11th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Folks! This oped of mine recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Afterwards, I heard from guess who? Hint: She’s Chief Operating Officer of a very popular social network — and a Free-Range Kids fan! Here’s to spreading the “Kids are not in constant danger” message…perhaps via social media? – L LEAN IN AND [...]
Filed under: Crazy Parents, Helicopter Effect on Kids, Infantilizing young folk, Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Media Madness, Miscellaneous | 157 Comments »
Posted on April 5th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — I just got off the phone with a mom in Pennsylvania whose tiny school district has allotted $100,000 for new security measures without even knowing what it will spend the money on. This district dropped about 10% of its teachers last year for lack of funding, but it is so freaked out by [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies | 91 Comments »
Posted on March 31st, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — Here’s a story from this scary, scary Easter season that I’m reprinting in full from NBCPhiladelphia.com, (with some commentary): WOMAN TRIES TO GIVE CANDY TO KID: POLICE Police are on the search for a woman who tried to give candy to a child Friday evening along a quiet residential road. [HOW DARE [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger), Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Sex Offender Issues | 95 Comments »
Posted on March 24th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — Below is an excerpt from a 2011 interview with University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley (just sent to me), whom I now consider a genius. He is so clear and smart about why, despite Canada’s homicide rate hitting a 44-year low, most people feel LESS safe, a discrepancy that daily constantly confounds me. The [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Other Places Other Eras, Worst-First Thinking | 53 Comments »
Posted on March 15th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — Over at CommonGood.org, I’ve got an essay about the family that found a paring knife at the bottom of the birthday cake they bought for their 2-year-old at Walmart. The teary-eyed father lamented, ”We’re not going to get that second birthday back ever.” Ohmigod–he’s right! How is anyone expected to recover from a blow [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, Crazy Parents, Insurance repercussions, Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Media Madness, Miscellaneous | 72 Comments »
Posted on March 5th, 2013 by lskenazy
Ach! You haf zee streudel nightmares too? My 17th patient today! Folks — You’ll recall the case from a few days ago when a boy was suspended from school for the crime of biting what sounds like a Pop-Tart into the shape of a gun. (Supposedly he was just trying to bite it into”the shape [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, Helicopter Effect on Kids, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies | 58 Comments »
Posted on March 5th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — An Oregon high school is planning to stage the most apocalyptic shooter drill yet. According to local public NPR station, KLCC: If Elmira High school students go to school on April 27th, they’ll be in an active-shooter role play drill. This is Chris Heppel, who’s coordinating the helicopters that will fly in to [...]
Filed under: Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Uber Safety, Worst-First Thinking | 63 Comments »
