Hi (from Vienna!) readers: This ad is so sane, so Free-Range, it’s making me a little suspicious.Why is an insurance company reminding us about the importance of taking small risks? Is it to make us less lawsuit-happy when something bad happens? Or to get us to buy insurance? (“A car can crash…”) Or maybe Allstate’s […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
A Shift in the Lunchroom at Work (to Free-Range)
Readers kkhskssfsa — This letter comes to us from a mom in Alberta, Canada, who is giving me a lot of hope. Change can be swift and, since it makes everyone happier, lasting. . Meantime, this intro  comes to you from Vienna, where I just flew in (arms tired, etc.) to give a talk tomorrow […]
“Playing with Toy Guns Desensitizes Children to Using Real Guns…” Uh, Sez Who?
Readers hktdfrerzr — A school in Hayward, Ca is offering a “toy gun buyback” to its students, modeled on the buybacks of real guns at real police stations. While I don’t have a big opinion about the idea — on the one hand, sometimes people mistake toy guns for real ones, which is tragic; on […]
Oh No! A Hostel Near a Day Care Center???
Readers – An area of Alexandria, VA, a suburb of D.C., is debating whether to allow a  hostel to open near, among other things, some day care centers. As the reader who sent us this nzirsdiadk news story wrote, “To hear some of the comments, you’d think they were planning to build a gun store/brothel/drug den!” Notes the […]
Let’s Ask All Our Schools for a Day Like This
Just a reminder of what education can be. Happy weekend! L. ibydydzyyt Kids Microadventure from Alastair Humphreys on Vimeo.
Came for the Car Race, Stayed for the Security Theater!
Readers fkzinbdazs — Here’s what happens when we panic, whether about security or about bumbling the security: Dear Free-Range Kids:Â Something that happened this weekend made me think of you. My husband, our almost 3-year-old son and I have been going to the Indianapolis 500 since 2011, when the little one was only 9 months old. […]
Help Needed: Your “I Let My Kid Wait in the Car” Stories!
From ezkikykine my mailbag…straight to my stomach, which is knotted in fear and anger: . Hi Lenore, my name is Christina Moon. I am a 32 year old mom of two girls, ages 7 and 4. A few weeks ago I had to make a return at a jcpenney near our home in Michigan. My […]
Kids Play Outside, Child Protective Services Comes Calling
Readers ehabzkesrf – Before you read this, let me say that I am eagerly awaiting a call later today from a lawyer whose organization fights for parents’ rights to raise their kids as they see fit, so long as they aren’t hurting them. In the meantime, here’s why we need a group like that: Dear […]
Listening to the Radio
Readers srenatkids — This little note serves up a perfect slice of our fear-steeped society! . Dear Free-Range Kids: I live in NJ so I was listening to the local FM station, 101.5 FM. (Btw, here is the spiel they actually announce as they introduce new segmants:) . “Not New York! Not Philadelphia! ALL New Jersey..!” […]
No, Ma’am, You May Not Chaperone Your Son’s Field Trip Without a Background Check
Readers eytnkefttz — It is time to update the term “Kafka-esque,” which seems to suggest bureaucratic madness belonged to another time and continent. That madness is alive and well, even in Dallas, TX, as you’re about to read. Â This piece comes from a Facebook post by my speaking engagement agent, Judy Safern at Leading Thinkers. […]