Archive | Miscellaneous

charles brewer headshot

Of Cars and Kids and Playing Outside

Kids running around and playing outside till the streetlights came on. That was Charles Brewer’s childhood — and dream. To make it happen in modern-day America, he developed Glenwood Park in Atlanta, a neighborhood that hewed to the tenets of “New Urbanism.” That mean it had, “town houses, offices, retail, walkable streets, a nice town […]

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dalle worried mom

How to Worry Less About Very Unlikely Dangers: Some Tips!

Did you know that January is Mental Wellness Awareness Month! Woo hoo! How can you celebrate? Get mentally well! That can be a challenge, especially in an era that can seem hellbent on creating new things to worry about. So here’s something that may help. Let Grow President Lenore Skenazy sat down with Tampa talk […]

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kidnap screenshot

Was This an Attempted Kidnapping? Or Not?

Folks — I can’t tell if I’m overly trusting or if the world is the opposite, so please weigh in: The story is that a man, 64, shopping with his wife at a Florida Walmart, grabbed a 4-year-old’s wrist and attempted to kidnap him. Here’s the video: The man supposedly told the child, “Let’s go.” […]

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Regine Galanti Headshot

A Child Anxiety Therapist Recommends Parents Push One Particular Thing

And you probably guessed what  that thing is: INDEPENDENCE! Kids need more of it! It’s an anxiety buster! Regine Galanti, PhD is a clinical psychologist and founder of Long Island Behavioral Psychology, a private practice in Nassau County. She’s also the author of many books on anxiety, most recently, Parenting Anxious Kids: Understanding Child Anxiety […]

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DALL·E 2023-12-12 15.13.58 - child's drawing of a girl walking on the sidewalk surrounded by robbers and murderers and zombies and monsters

Don’t Tell Kids That Someone Could Grab Them

A childcare worker in Texas dropped a line with a story — and a request: Dear Let Grow: You helped me a few years ago when the state wanted me to get rid of my rope swing, which the kids in my childcare program love. I also run an after-school care program at my local […]

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mike hynes USE THIS headshot

Want Students to Succeed Almost Every Possible Way? Start a Play Club

Michael Hynes is superintendent of the Port Washington, Long Island School District, just outside New York City. He’s also a Fulbright Specialist, TEDx speaker, author of “Staying Grounded: 12 Principles to Transform School Leader Effectiveness” — and a big part of the documentary “Chasing Childhood.” Please Note: Hynes graduated in the bottom 10% of his […]

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allan sherman

Hello Muddah, Hello, Faddah — in The Smartphone Age

Remember (or not!) the classic Allan Sherman song, “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,” the letter from an unhappy camper?  Today’s post involves something remarkably similar — except it’s updated. And it’s real. It comes to us from James Frank’s Wild Nature Adventure blog. “Ranger James” started and runs the Lure of the Wild Nature Camps in Catonsville, Maryland.  […]

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