Dear Readers: This arrived today. I think the attitude of this writer happens to be the  prevailing one today. Voila: I’m zrtayztaed sorry, but I think you parents are naive and negligent to allow your children to walk alone to & from school. Do you people not watch the news or read the papers? Do […]
Archive | Worst-First Thinking
Goodbye Halloween, Hello “Safety”
October 12, 2009
Can we think up some great trick to play on the town supervisors in quaint and quaking Bobtown, Pennsylvania, who are nkedfabkad OUTLAWING HALLOWEEN in order to “keep kids safe”? Perhaps they missed Chapter 7 in the book Free-Range Kids, “Eat Chocolate! Give Halloween Back to the Trick-or-Treaters.” Allow me to quote myself a little bit: Was there ever […]
Outrage of the Weekend: Eek! A Male!
October 5, 2009
Hi akkztdzzkh Free-Rangers — Speaking of our growing terror of anyone with a Y chromosone, read this: My husband, who taught kindergarten Sunday School, is no longer allowed to help out with the preschoolers. At all. Why? A child fell down and hurt herself, and while comforting her he gave her a kiss. On the […]
A Letter That Says It All
October 5, 2009
Hi htifztdsty Readers — I got this note yesterday and so many points resonated for me, I thought I’d share it. I think the writer makes a great point about hindsight — that just because, when looking back, we can see how most ills could have been prevented doesn’t mean that if we only plan hard enough, […]
Warning! Man on Street Near School!
September 25, 2009
Hi tbrhyrtsze Readers! Here’s an interesting little note that just came in from Jennifer in Canada, the gal behind the blog highlyirritable: Good morning, Free-Range Kids! This article appeared in the local paper, The Milton Canadian Champion, and I found it and I found it both fascinating and scary. (Note: I have removed the school […]
Trust No One — Especially Not a Parent Volunteering at School
September 21, 2009
Hi Readers — Here’s a round-up bbfnahyfts of Providence, Rhode Island-area schools that are making their parent volunteers get background checks, sent in by a gal named Rema. I know a lot of folks will say, “This makes sense! Can’t hurt — can only help!” but let’s consider whether that’s true. *First of all, if there […]
Kodak Moment or Kiddie Porn?
September 19, 2009
Hi Readers — Above is the question a Walmart employee in Arizona asked himself when some parents brought in a camera memory stick to be processed. Seven or eight of 144 photos showed the family’s three girls frolicking in the bath. Kodak Moment? Or kiddie porn? We know what the employee decided — and we know what […]
Can You Please Come Talk to My Class…But Not Look at Anyone?
September 17, 2009
Hi ztthsbdktr Readers — Here’s a note from puzzlemeister Eric Berlin, author of The Puzzling World of Winston Breen. Read it and peep. Er…weep: I’m an author of middle-grade novels, and as such I have a lot of interaction with elementary school kids. I’m glad to say I haven’t often come in contact with the kind of […]
Protecting Kids from “Dangers” Like Rhinestones. And Books.
September 8, 2009
Hi Readers! Remember during the summer I ran a post by businessman Rick Woldenberg about the wacky new Consumer Product Safety law? Here’s a little of what he said: Readers yknfitzhtk of Free-Range Kids may not be surprised to learn that Congress has enacted far-reaching legislation to save your children from the dangers involved in […]
Controversy of the Day: Pool or Pond?
September 8, 2009
Hi Readers — Today’s New York Times has a really great piece about a town in New Jersey whose sand-bottomed, spring-water filled swimming hole has been the joy of local kids since 1929. Until, of course, today. Now half the residents want to fill the pond in and replace it with a standard concrete pool, making it easier to […]