Hi Readers — Today is my birthday, so I’m taking the opportunity to tell you a little bit about what I do besides blogging. (Or you can just watch this video.) I’m a newspaper gal by training. For 14 years I was on staff at The New York Daily News, first as a features writer, […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
Free-Range Gifts (an Oxymoron)? Your Ideas Needed!
Folks — You’ll enjoy this post, “A Terrible Mother’s Holiday Guide to Dangerous Gifts,” by Katrina Fernandez, which begins: … I am terrible mother, with little regard for my son’s safety. I let him play outside after dark, armed with nothing more than a flashlight. For birthdays and Christmas, I buy him things like knives and duct […]
Background Check the Parents of Your Kids’ Playdates, Urges Ad
From my mailbox: Hi Lenore, Fadi Adawi, former Deputy County Sheriff in California’s Central Valley, took his career from fighting crime on the streets to developing one of the world’s largest websites, InstantCheckmate.com, which helps people be proactive about their safety. As a former law enforcement officer, Fadi learned that looks can be deceiving—criminals often […]
Mayor of Small Town: Kids Not Allowed to Bike on Streets Here
Readers — I find this story by Colleen Creamer flabbergasting: A grandmother in the tiny town of Charlotte, TN, allowed her four grandkids, ages 7 – 12, to ride up and down her street. For this she found herself in violation of a 2003 city code that declares no one can “ride an all terrain vehicle, […]
Oh Yes, Mr. Marketer, We are ALL Afraid Our Kids Will Be Snatched
From My Mailbox: Dear Blogger: We’ve all seen or heard of the hit movie “Taken†starring the beloved Liam Neeson, where his daughter is kidnapped upon arrival to Europe without a single trace as to where she might have disappeared. Ever since, this movie has given nightmares to parents and travelers alike who can’t anticipate […]
How to Make Your Kids’ Sports Team Even Stronger (Surprise Tip!)
Readers — So many truths turn out to be counter-intuitive, including this little lesson from a Canadian Hockey Mom: At a hockey tournament last weekend, where EVERYTHING was adult-organized, and the only “toy” these grade 6 and 7 boys brought along was a goddamned Playstation or Xbox or some crap like that with games where […]
Dad on Foot Arrested for Refusing to Wait in Line of Cars to Get Kids
Readers — This is a strange and upsetting video about a dad in Tennessee who walked to the local school to pick up his kids — 8 and 14 — and was told he had to wait in the line of cars (or at least, wait as LONG as the parents in cars) to get […]
School Disciplines 8 y.o. for Thumb Wrestling — There’s “A Potential for Injury!”
Hi Readers — This comes to us from a mom in Georgia who says she is all for her son following the rules, “But  A) He didn’t even know this was a rule he needed to follow. And B) The rules should make sense- shouldn’t they?” Our favorite question! – L . Dear Free-Range Kids: I […]
Parents Fined for Not Providing a Perfectly Balanced Sack Lunch
Just in case you thought the world was getting a little more sensible: I realize it’s hard to read, so a bigger photo and an explanation of this “ticket” is to be found on the wonderful blog, Weighty Matters. Apparently, all parent-supplied lunches MUST include 1 milk, 1 meat (good luck to the Orthodox Jews […]
Barenaked Ladies: We Bow Down to You!
Yes! Yes! Yes! Everything we’ve been trying to say for five years PLUS a tune. And zombies! And baby dinosaurs! This should SO be our theme song!! Now watch it again and try to just read the crawl. SOOOOOO good! – L