Hi Readers — One of you sent me this hkkkrsfiin link to Moms Who Think. Apparently these are Moms Who Think TOO MUCH. They make outdoor play sound like sending your kid off to the Crusades. Voila: …unlike schoolwork, outdoor play can present physical dangers that you may find downright disturbing. Children can easily fall […]
Archive | Parks, Playing and Playgrounds
Look at This Sign!
Click bdzykhhdsz here. It’ll take you to the photo at KaBOOM, with the headline: Would You Want to Play Here? Answer: I don’t even think it’s allowed! — L
New Outrage! Homeowners Assn. Proposes Ban on Kids Playing
Hi Readers — Just be glad you don’t live in the Persimmon Place subdivision in Edgewater, Fla. The Homeowners Association (HOA) there is considering new rules that will ban children from playing outside. I KNOW this sounds like a fantasy plot from one of the umpteen dystopian young adult novels out there, so let me […]
What’s Wrong with This “Let’s Move!” Ad?
Hi Readers — What’s wrong with this commercial for the campaign, “Let’s Move” ? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6utraKblMw] Well, first of all, it assumes it is OUR JOB, as parents, to keep coming up with one-minute exercises that will some how magically take the place of an entire CHILDHOOD spent running around. Secondly, it doesn’t even remotely suggest […]
Why Not Hire Armored Personnel Carriers?
Dear hhadsznyks Readers: This is from a comment on the Afghanistan post — the post where we learned that while American schools worry that Valentine’s Day could emotionally scar the children, and 15-year-olds waiting outside for a ride could be in danger, 12-year-olds in other parts of the world are the heads of households: Dear […]
How Very Welcoming!
Hi Readers! Here’s the sign a nature center director is about to take down from the local preserve where, for the record, there are no cliffs, no plunging ravines, no standing water, no wild animals beyond the usual squirrel-type thing, no snakes, and no evil trees. There IS some poison ivy. Anyway, as he put […]
There’s No Place Like Outside for the Holidays
Hi izatbrresd Readers — As a week of no school looms, here are some ideas for outdoor fun from Heidi Ahrens, a Colorado mom of two very active Free-Range girls. Heidi runs the website and social network community OutdoorBabyNetwork. You may also find traces of Heidi on NYC streets where she once played. Me? I love […]
OTHER Outrage of the Week: Funeral for a Swing Set
Hi Readers — Those clever folks at KaBoom, the playground people, have created a iytabdnnzd “virtual funeral” for the swingsets of West Virginia’s Cabell County. The sets died an unnatural death, after a painful lawsuit brought by the parents of a boy who broke his arm jumping off a swing. In a response worthy of […]
Outrage of the Week: Chess Players Ticketed for Being Near Playground
Hi Readers — I’m sorry to say, this itftbasrsy is happening in MY town, New York City: Seven chess players have to appear in court for playing the game of kings on the stone chess tables close to a playground — a playground where adults are forbidden unless they are accompanied by a child. Because, […]
No Recess? No Good
Hi tytezeirat Readers! Meg Rosker is a writer, wife and mom of three in Redington Shores, FL. She blogs at withoutablueprint. To keep  recess alive and well at your school (or bring it back from the dead), check out the resources at saverecess.com,  Kaboom and Playworks! — L . RECESS IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME by Meg Rosker . […]