Hi Readers! Yes, this is one of my “pet” topics — the way “I care!” can morph into “No one else cares as much as I do,” which can curdle into “I’m the only one who cares enough!” (See, for instance, “Did Being a Helicopter Parent Doom My Marriage (and Kids.”) But I also love [...]
Filed under: Miscellaneous, Worst-First Thinking | 150 Comments »
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 »
Readers — Below is an excerpt from a 2011 interview with University of Toronto criminologist Scot Wortley (just sent to me), whom I now consider a genius. He is so clear and smart about why, despite Canada’s homicide rate hitting a 44-year low, most people feel LESS safe, a discrepancy that daily constantly confounds me. The [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Other Places Other Eras, Worst-First Thinking | 53 Comments »
Readers — Normally I don’t reprint whole stories from sites. Bad internet etiquette. BUT this story is so strange in its entirety, here goes: Scary false alarm puts Primrose School of Barker Cypress in lockdown by Tiffany Craig / KHOU 11 News CYPRESS, Texas — A mother got quite the scare after she saw a [...]
Filed under: Crazy Parents, Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger), Miscellaneous, Worst-First Thinking | 122 Comments »
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 »
Readers — An Oregon high school is planning to stage the most apocalyptic shooter drill yet. According to local public NPR station, KLCC: If Elmira High school students go to school on April 27th, they’ll be in an active-shooter role play drill. This is Chris Heppel, who’s coordinating the helicopters that will fly in to [...]
Filed under: Media Madness, Miscellaneous, Uber Safety, Worst-First Thinking | 63 Comments »
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 »
Hey Readers — You may recall this post from two weeks ago about playground equipment purchased by a Fairfax, VA, PTA from a reputable manufacturer that was installed at a local grammar school over the summer and then suddenly declared “unsafe.” Since Nov. 30 it had been wrapped up in tape of every sort — [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Breaking news, Infantilizing young folk, Miscellaneous, Parks, Playing and Playgrounds, Uber Safety, Worst-First Thinking | 21 Comments »
From the Brave New World of Fearing Everything (probably including lawsuits), as sent to us by Judy in Warrington, PA: . Dear Free-Range Kids: Today at Wegman’s, I was unable to purchase a King’s Cake (Fat Tuesday tradition) with the lucky baby trinket hidden inside. It seems it is now a choking hazard, even though [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Insurance repercussions, Miscellaneous, Worst-First Thinking | 41 Comments »
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 »
