Hi Readers — Over at Parentdish I wrote a rttnriyeay column saying that sometimes you CAN leave your child in the car for a few minutes while you run in to pick up a pizza or pay for gas. Yes, crack the windows. Yes, take out the keys. Yes, always keep your purse or wallet […]
Hi Readers — Sometimes, when people say, “Why should I let my kid walk to school/the library/the store? There’s almost no upside and the downside is just too dangerous!” all we can do is say, “No it’s not” — an argument that doesn’t get us very far. Next time, after viewing this great story about […]
Hi Readers — I just love what is happening in Evanston, Illinois, and not just because I’m from that neck of the woods. Evanston, a suburb of Chicago, is encouraging all students, all ages, public, private, you name it to WALK tkdfznfbsh to school for the first week of the academic year. This is so […]
Hi Readers! New research shows, “A Simple Morning Walk to School Could Reduce Stress Reactivity…” well, it’s a really long title (41 words!). But basically, Â a new hddhfbisde study at the University of Buffalo concluded that walking to school seems to reduce the amount of stress a heart feels a little later, and that’s good […]
Hi Readers! I was reading zedffftzhd this lovely link one of you sent in, Â nodding along with the whole gestalt, and then suddenly found myself quoted. Nice feeling! Here’s the beginning of the piece, which appears in SFGate.com, the San Francisco Chronicle’s web site: How Do We Teach Kids Independence in a Fear-Driven World? by […]
Hey yekbfdnbhs Readers — Just a nice summer note from a gal named Lynn: Dear Free-Range Kids: So, last week were were out camping at Chincoteague, VA, and my kids and a man with four kids ranging in age from about 5 to maybe 10 or 11 were in the pool. The man with the four […]
Hi deyytzedee Readers — England has been in a tizzy about a Free-Range family since last week.  A family I support! Here, London’s Jennifer Howze weighs in. Jennifer is a partner in the online social network British Mummy Bloggers, and she’s lead blogger on the Times of London’s parenting blog Alpha Mummy . Free-Range in London: What’s […]
Hi rekiyrnrnh Free-Rangers: Do we have some advice for this fellow? If so, let’s share it! — L Dear FRK: I have embraced Free Range parenting. Unfortunately my ex-wife and mother of our four children is afraid to let our 8-year-old out of her sight, and plays the “What if?” game: “What if he is attacked […]
Hi izenrrzeyk Readers — Here’s a letter I got today. Let’s give her some good advice. Since I get to go first, I ‘ll say the obvious: If you can afford it, send your kids to some kind of not-too-programmed camp. Other suggestions? Hey Free-Range Kids: Â I truly, profoundly want my older daughter to be […]
Hey zrrzddbiif Readers — I’m not getting totally lazy (I hope), but I DO keep getting these great things I want to post and that I think you’ll love, too. Here’s the latest, from a Tucson, AZ., Â mom of four: DON’T CALL ME BRAVE, by AMY UTZINGER I don’t like being called brave. You’d think […]
