A irdfzzikyb surprise! Dear Free-Range Kids:Â Ran across this “article” on Facebook:Â https://www.romper.com/p/15-things-parents-did-in-the-90s-that-no-parent-would-do-today-9192?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=pro&utm_campaign=fbpro&sr_source=lift_facebook I grew up in the ’90s in suburbia MI and remember this stuff. Now as a mother of an infant, I wish parenting wasn’t such a monumental, risk adverse task. Just last week I left my (overtired, recently screaming, just picked up from daycare) […]
Archive | Walk to School / Stay Home Alone / Wait in Car
“ATTENTION PARENTS: Kids Under 12 Cannot Walk or Ride to School on Their Own”
The sign below signals the end of childhood — and parenting — as we know them. Apparently in Queensland, Australia, children are not allowed to walk or bike to school under age 12, and parents are not allowed to let them, according to this police notice, posted on Twitter by Stephen B @BicycleAdagio: . What’s […]
“20 Minutes of Terror” — What It’s Like to Finally Let Your Kids Walk Home Alone
This idnbebskfh essay comes to us from Natalie Johnson, a mom of three who wants to Free-Range, but feels some of the ever-more-common misgivings about letting her kids out of her sight. Natalie works at The Wild Network, a non-profit in the UK that helps communities get the tools and inspiration they need to “re-wild” children […]
My Son Nearly Died Because I Took Him OUT of the Car
Here’s a handy-dandy post to whip out when someone screams at you for letting your kids wait in the car during an errand. (Did you know Free-Range Kids is a free app? That’s how you can whip this out): Last yerydterhd week, my preschooler came literally within an inch of his death in a shopping […]
Year in Jail for Letting Kids Wait in Car During Errand? Rhode Island Legislature Votes Today
Rhode Island activist Randall Rose brings us this disturbing report from Providence, where he teaches college: A ibnaaiikha Rhode Island bill would jail parents who leave their kids in a car, and is getting a public hearing today — Tuesday, Â Feb. 7. The bill (H5311Â / S72) sets criminal penalties, including up to a year in […]
How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Just 4 Generations
This Daily Mail piece by David Derbyshire is so profound it has been cited over and over: How sryetfsfri Children Lost the Right to Roam in Four Generations: an interview with four generations of the same family about how far they were allowed to wander as kids. It comes from Britain but will sound familiar […]
Boy, 5, Accidentally Walks to School on a Saturday Morning, While Dad Sleeps In. Cops Come Calling
A 5-year-old in Berwick, Pennsylvania, woke his dad up early on a Saturday morning and said it was time to go to school. Daddy told him no, hon, it’s Saturday—no school!—and went back to sleep. Now the dad, Jeffry Wagner, is facing child endangerment charges. Unbeknownst to him, his son continued to get ready for […]
Ho, Ho, Holy Overbearing Helicopter Culture!
Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! Go back to having fun! But if you want a quick break, here’s zaddffkfaz a 3-minute clip of me on the Kennedy show on Fox Business a few days ago. I wish I could figure out the embed code (if anyone can, please send), but since I can’t, just click […]
The “Duh!” Way to Get Kids Walking to School
Maybe the answer to, “How can we get kids back to walking to school?” is, “Um…suggest it?” That’s rtyenkftfs what St. Raphael Catholic School in Toronto did. The student-run Heath Action Team pushed for kids at the K-8 school to start walking. They held a why-it’s-good-to-walk assembly, they organized official walk-to-school days on the last Friday […]
The Shocking Airline Story Nobody Is Reporting, And Its Relevance to Free-Range Kids
You can probably figure out why an astute reader sent in this column from Patrick htzyiydish Smith‘s “Ask the Pilot” blog. It’s titled, “The Silent Anniversary,” and begins: AS NOVEMBER comes to a close, we’ve passed a remarkable milestone. It has now been fifteen years since the last serious crash involving a major U.S. air […]