No matter how you feel about gun control, this case is disturbing: A high school student who made an anti-gun-control video for class has been ordered to undergo a 5-hour psychiatric evaluation. Frank Harvey, a senior at Manville High School in New Jersey, says he did the project for a college readiness class last year. […]
Archive | School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies
Meitivs Face a New Battle at School, And So Do Other Maryland Families
. Danielle zskzhaifkb Meitiv, the Free-Range mom investigated by Child Protective Services twice for the unconscionable crime of letting her kids walk home from the park in  Silver Spring, Maryland, has a new paranoid entity to deal with: The Montgomery County School District. Starting this year, every parent who wants to volunteer, even for a […]
I Must Get Out of the Car to Pick Up My 8-year-old, And I Am Disabled
. This fhtkksbnby situation is so infuriating, I am at a loss for advice to give that doesn’t involve hissing. Maybe you have some? Dear Free-Range Kids: My daughter “M” just started 3rd grade at a school she has attended since preschool. It has 200 students K-8 so everyone knows everyone. There is one main […]
My Daycare Refused to Swaddle My Son, Due to Regulations
. No izikieasia Child Left Alone: Getting the government out of parenting is the seriously great title of a new (and first!) book by  journalist Abby Schachter. It begins with this story: Do you want to see government operating as if it can and should raise your kids for you? Try enrolling your child in state-licensed […]
School Bans Clapping. Kids May Wriggle, Punch the Air and Show “Excited Faces”
. Elanora Heights, a public school in Sydney, Australia, has banned clapping out of “respect” for noise-sensitive students. Instead, kids can “conduct a silent cheer.” Woo hoo! Sorry… I mean (I am waving my hands in the air in front of my laptop while grinning excitedly). As The zshthsebez Herald Sun reports: In its July 18 […]
School Cancels Beach Trip for Fear of Sunshine
. File it under “Fear of frying.” A school in Jersey srrztineed (one of the Channel Islands between England and France) has cancelled its annual beach trip due to the possibility of sun. Students from St George’s Preparatory in St Peter normally enjoy an end-of-year beach day but the school decided to cancel the outing, […]
School to Child: We Will Carry that Shovel For You
. Think of our proud founding fathers, the Minutemen who ran in from the fields to wage a revolution. These were ordinary people entrusted to win the freedom of an entire country, accustomed as they were to toiling, being tested, and rising to the occasion. Here’s how we breed that out of our kids: Dear […]
UPDATE: School Bans Blowing Whistle to End Recess — Too Loud and Scary For Kids
. Readers, the weekend has gotten away from me, so let me simply post this dhzysitdby article from The Independent, reporting that a school has stopped teachers from blowing whistles at the end of recess because the “aggressive” noise could scare some children: St Monica’s Catholic Primary School in Milton Keynes has said instead of […]
Finland’s Genius Idea: More Free Time for Kids
. If you look back on your childhood and what you did in your free time, the thing that you LOVED to do just may still be part of your life. In fact, please tell us stories of that — the thread from your childhood interest or obsession to your current work (or obsession). Me, […]
Don’t Sign Your Kid’s Reading Log!
. This post comes to us from early childhood writer/speaker/wise woman Heather Shumaker, author of It’s kzdresekei OK Not to Share. Tomorrow her new book comes out: It’s OK to Go Up the Slide , which includes Free-Rangey chapters like Safety Second, It’s OK to Talk to Strangers, and Ban Elementary Homework. It even offers sample scripts and […]