UPDATE: nnaehieeif The school that suspended 17-year-old Chaz Seale for accidentally packing a beer instead of a soda in his lunch has relented and is now allowing him BACK. Lucky him! Going back to where the folks in charge can’t tell the difference between a crime and a mistake! Anyway, his “minor in possession” charge […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
Grandpa Picks up Wrong Kindergartener and Now Parents Want World to Stop in Its Tracks
Readers — This atahdsbikd is just a rather perfect illustration of the way our society works now, when it comes to parents, schools, Â media, fear, mistakes and, heck, let’s throw in umbrage. A great-grandpa picked up the wrong kindergartener from school. The two boys had similar hats, and the one gramps took home had his […]
Rats, Drugs and Free-Range Kids
Readers — I was looking up “rat experiments” (don’t ask!) and came upon this baefrnnybn incredible comic by Stuart McMillen, tracing the lure of drugs on two sets of rats: One group held in isolated pens, the other in “Rat Park” — a fragrant, outdoorsy pen filled with things to explore and a bunch of fellow […]
Children’s Shoes Recalled WHY?!?
Readers — Please first take a guess as to why the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled these shoes last week. Then, read the real rationale. (Boldface mine.) Recall Date: February 20, 2014 Eastman Footwear Recalls Coleman Runestone Children’s Shoes Due to Laceration Hazard WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. […]
How Lawsuits Have Changed Childhood…and America
Reader zahsidrhfd — Welcome to the wisdom of Philip Howard, the lawyer, intellectual, and founder of Common Good, whose book “Life Without Lawyers” opened my eyes to how we got so risk-averse. Here’s that whole book boiled down, more or less, in a recent blogpost by Howard. It explains how we got to the point […]
All Hail Wendy Mogel’s “Overparenting Anon” List
Folks zakkrrebni — Wendy Mogel got the anti-helicopter parenting movement rolling with her book, ‘The Blessings of a Skinned Knee.” Here’s a taste of her fabulous “Overparenting Anonymous” List that I wish I had tattooed (just for the first 20 years or so) on my arm: OVERPARENTING ANONYMOUS A 26-step program for good parents gone […]
Start Now! Organize a Weekly “Fun Sports” Day
Readers — Sometimes I can’t believe how hard it is for kids to find anyone to play with outside.  Some days my sports-loving son, now 15, still comes straight home, only because all the other kids were doing that, too. So — here’s sfdnnaznty an alternative you might want to try: Rather than relying on parents to […]
Through the Lookingglass
Readers — This is a video made by a Norwegian group, SOS eanhashtyy Children’s Villages, that gives out coats to Syrians freezing through the war and winter. Â If you wish to feel good about humanity, click to play. If you wish to help, too, here’s the link. Â – L
The Death of Hailey Owens and the Fear It Strikes
How should the tragic news of a 10-year-old Hailey Owens’ abduction and murder change us? For sakkiredtk me, it will mean feeling sickeningly sad for her and her family. Â And beyond that, it will mean a call for… Nothing. Not more laws protecting kids — there are already laws against murder. Not more police on […]
Stephen King Understands
Hi eitfibazzd Friends — I haven’t read this book, so let reader Barbara Crooks explain: Dear Free-Range Kids: I have been reading your blog for a very long time and learned from it that I was a Free-Range parent without knowing it. I learned today just how bad it is in today’s culture for men. […]