Hi Folks! At a school for 7- to 11-year-olds in England, says hdseythfnz the BBC, they’ve banned leather footballs (that is, soccer balls) Â at what sounds like recess and perhaps before and after school. Leather balls can be for “football club” and “specific” P.E. lessons. But otherwise, all regulation balls will be replaced by balls […]
Archive | Parks, Playing and Playgrounds
Guest Post: Free-Range…in a Group Home
Hi fatsadesty Readers — Here’s a guest post from Darell Hammond, founder and CEO of KaBOOM!, a very cool, national nonprofit trying to ensure a playground within walking distance of every child. Hammond is also author of the New York Times bestselling book, KaBOOM!: How One Man Built a Movement to Save Play. So read this […]
Perv Alert! Man Seen Photographing Boy at Park!
Hi Readers — This just in! A creepy old guy was seen taking pix of some young boy in Idaho. The cops were called! The media alerted! Hearts pounded, rage burbled, all because… Um, a grandpa was photographing his grandson. He left when some crazy lady started yelling at him. Here’s bfdsiyszdi the story.  — L
Playgrounds Getting TOO Safe?
Hi Readers — A bunch of you sent me links to this wonderful rbanzdabeb NY Times story by John Tierney yesterday, about how maybe we have been making playgrounds SO safe that they actually stunt our kids’ development. (Or at least make it too boring for anyone over 7 to want to go play.) It’s a […]
OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK: Cops Say It’s ILLEGAL for Kids to Play Outside, Unsupervised
Hi eshtifzfzz Folks — Here it is again. The creeping idea that anytime our kids are outside without us they are in DANGER, thus it is CRIME to take our eyes off them. The writer of the note below, from Western Maryland, also pens this blog. Here’s what’s happening out by her: Dear Free-Range Kids: […]
All Adults Are Potential Predators (Even Ladies Eating Donuts at the Park)
Hi Readers: The headline on this story says it all — almost: Women eisdaknyay Ticketed for Eating Donuts in a Brooklyn Park. The REASON these women were ticketed was not the donuts, it was the lack of children with them. Local law — that is, the law in my insane city — says no adults […]
SATURDAY! Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day!
Hi neiehedekn Readers! Here’s a piece I wrote for my syndicated column: Coming up this Saturday is holiday you didn’t celebrate as a child, because you didn’t have to. You just got up, ate breakfast and sped off to the park. No big deal. Except it is now. Around the country, the parks are empty. […]
May 21: Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Again!
Hi Readers! It is time for our second annual Take ebiyskzrzk Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day: Saturday, May 21! Last year this was an idea derided by the media right and left. “A predator’s picnic,” is how one radio station described it. “Bizarre!” exclaimed the front page of The New York […]
When Risk Visits the Playground
Hi niidhbbzhh Readers — Here’s a note from reader Althea Smock, a mother of two Free-range Kids, ages 5 and 7,  in Arvada, Colorado. I find myself thinking about  our inability to understand, deal with or accept risk a LOT and, apparently, so does she! — L. . Dear Free-Range Kids:  The risk adversity in the […]
Outrage of the Week: Inflatables Too Dangerous For School Fair
Hi Readers! Â What happens when childhood, lawsuits and an all-around inability to deal with risk jump up and down and bump into each other? Here’s dzafdbfnbk the jist of it: Gordon Tewnion addressed the board recently, requesting the use of five air-filled devices, including a maze and a slide, for a May 26 fun fair […]