Posted on April 27th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — This is the surreal story of a 10-year-old who brought a Swiss Army Knife with him on a 5-day nature trip and was treated like a terrorist in training. According to The Daily Caller, the boy’s dad was summoned to cut short a business trip about 100 miles way and immediately come pick [...]
Filed under: Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies, Stupid Advice | 131 Comments »
Posted on April 17th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — Security guru Bruce Schneier (author of “Liars and Outliers: Enabling the Trust That Society Needs to Thrive,”) is so right about a whole lot of things, including the fact that we should almost ignore what’s on the news when it comes to making both policy and personal decisions. Why? Because the news is [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Bikes and cycling, Miscellaneous, Stupid Advice, Worst-First Thinking | 28 Comments »
Posted on March 6th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — Just another note from the frontlines of our freaking-out country! Got this yesterday: . Dear Free-Range Kids: I found this story, currently going on in my greater neighborhood as I type this, incredibly alarmist. A little background: I live in a nice, average neighborhood in Seattle. We have a neighborhood blog that [...]
Filed under: Breaking news, Crazy Parents, Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger), Miscellaneous, School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies, Stupid Advice, Worst-First Thinking | 58 Comments »
Posted on March 1st, 2013 by lskenazy
Thank goodness for the Walk Mee! Now children will finally learn how to walk. All they needed was a little extra $29.99 help — and here it is, at last! And since they will reach their “key development milestones faster” — and we all know it’s a race — that must mean they will be ahead [...]
Filed under: Helicopter Effect on Kids, Infantilizing young folk, Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Miscellaneous, Stupid Advice | 50 Comments »
Posted on February 21st, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — How I love being an “online influencer.” It means I get a ton of press releases from folks seeking publicity, including one that just came in suggesting I interview a particular “social media expert” regarding “How to Protect Your Family from Social Media.” I guess if this were a generation or two [...]
Filed under: Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger), Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Stupid Advice, Worst-First Thinking | 68 Comments »
Posted on February 20th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — Here’s a piece of mine that ran in The Wall Street Journal. Woof! (Doggie for, “Enjoy!”) – L. Helicopter Parents — Meet Helicopter Pet-Owning by Lenore Skenazy If you’re considering getting a pet at this time of year, as many folks do, you may find the rescue shelters a little pickier than [...]
Filed under: Crazy Parents, Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Miscellaneous, Other Places Other Eras, Stupid Advice, Uber Safety, Walk to School / Stay Home Alone / Wait in Car | 130 Comments »
Posted on February 19th, 2013 by lskenazy
Readers — As we continue to document the infantilization of young people, including how and why this trend began, here’s a bright trail to one of the culprits: The insurance industry. Remember, insurance has nothing to lose and everything to gain by taking all freedom and responsibility away from minors. If kids were all in [...]
Filed under: Infantilizing young folk, Insurance repercussions, Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Miscellaneous, Stupid Advice, Walk to School / Stay Home Alone / Wait in Car | 130 Comments »
Posted on February 18th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hey Readers — Hadn’t realized there was a tempest in a toy robbery going on in England, where the media are reporting anger at Playmobil’s age-old cops and robbers set: Wearing dark glasses, the blonde dolly points her pistol at the smiley bank manager as he happily hands over the cash. It’s just one of [...]
Filed under: Helicopter Effect on Kids, Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Miscellaneous, Other Places Other Eras, Stupid Advice | 36 Comments »
Posted on February 9th, 2013 by lskenazy
Dateline: Montreal — and talk about scary: A middle-aged woman was seen offering a 13-year-old girl a lift. But wait! It gets worse. Possibly the SAME woman also recently offered a ride to a 10-year-old. Can you believe it? How brazen! As if she’s just some nice lady and it’s cold outside! She didn’t drag the [...]
Filed under: Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Stupid Advice, Walk to School / Stay Home Alone / Wait in Car, Worst-First Thinking | 63 Comments »
Posted on February 8th, 2013 by lskenazy
Hi Readers! This came in response to the post about a mom who unexpectedly left her 3-year-old alone at a table at Taco Bell for two minutes and got screamed at by the woman at the next table for “endangering” the child. “Please tell me I didn’t do something crazy,” wrote the mom. Most of [...]
Filed under: Crazy Parents, Helicopter Effect on Kids, Miscellaneous, Stupid Advice, Worst-First Thinking, Zingers and retorts | 64 Comments »
