Hi Readers — sfyrifikrb Here’s the latest “help” on the way for kids threatened by those terrifying thugs: community gardeners. In Denver, people can rent small plots on school grounds to grow what sound like “victory gardens.” But now — after 25 years of this program — suddenly anyone who plants on school property is […]
Archive | Worst-First Thinking
Two Thoughts
Hi fiybryeies Readers — I got this note the other day and found it very intriguing. You may, too. It’s about two issues that affect how we think about kids and freedom ! Dear Free-Range Kids: These thoughts have been swirling around my mind. 1. Have you noticed that “anything can happen” is the new […]
Just When You Thought Free-Range Kids Was Catching On…
Hi Readers — Here’s a link rfhyszsnbe to my essay on ParentDish, “Can a Mom Leave Her Kid Alone at the Library for Three Minutes?” It’s about a mom who left her kid in the children’s room to run upstairs and check out a book in the adult department. She told the librarian she’d be […]
A Wonk Ponders Parenting
Hi Readers! I got this essay from Prof. Steven Horwitz, the Charles A. Dana Professor of Economics at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. (La di dah!) Thought it made a lot of sense, even if it’s a little academic. Enjoy! And if you want to drop him a note, his email is-sghorwitz@stlawu.edu. dzktrhbrhn — Lenore To Be […]
Hey Kids! What To Do If You Are Trapped in A Trunk by Your Local Madman!
Hi Readers: As a Free-Range parent I believe in preparing kids to be independent and safe. Just as we teach them to “Stop, drop and roll!” in the unlikely event they’re ever on fire, it makes sense to teach them to yell, kick and run in the equally unlikely event some creep tries to grab […]
All Men Are Perverts, Part II: The Clerk
Here’s a byzktfrnht short, fun post from the blog (The Customer Is) Not Always Right, all about a new clerk trying to figure out where to shelve the girls’ underwear he is carrying. Yes, that means he is wandering around the store, in public, girls’ panties in tow.
Outrage of the Week: Boy Scientist Sent for Counseling
Dear Readers: Â OMG, as I rarely say, because I am over 22. Â Here’s the latest crazy thing, according to the sadtbefeft San Diego Union Tribune: An 11-year-old boy did a science project on his own (tsk tsk!) and brought the results to show his buddies at Millennial Tech Magnet Middle School. Â Yes, a school DEVOTED […]
Controversial? Us?
Hi Readers and gollllly. Here I thought we’d cornered the market on commonsense. But according to the megasite Babble — and its wonderful einnrrzbzd list of the 50 top mommy bloggers — Free-Range Kids is the “Most Controversial” parenting blog of 2009. If you visit the Babble list, please feel free to click on the “I […]
When A Kid Doesn’t Come Home When He’s Expected…
Hi refhzbriek Readers! Here’s a little note from a mom of three named Nina: Dear Free-Range Kids: First of all, thank you. I have been increasingly Free Range over the past 4-5 years but I didn’t have a name for it until I found this website. I am glad to know that I am not […]
A Couple in their 70s Wave at A Kid…And In Swoop the Cops
Hi Readers — Acting like decent, warm-hearted human beings again? Please. Won’t you ever learn? Take a lesson from this afskdzinri story: A Canadian couple in their 70s were out running errands. Saw a boy on his bike. Waved. Later, they parked the car to run those errands. Cops arrived — a slew of  them […]