Readers — Next time you are at a restaurant, please remember that a lot of people have touched the menu before you, which means it is harboring germs. So wash your hands when you’re done with it, and make sure it never touches your plate or your utensils. Also, do not touch the ketchup bottle […]
Delayed Plane Means 13-y.o. Spends Night Alone at Airport — and So?
Hi Readers — Here’s sinfydafys a story that elicits at least three reactions from me. An Air Canada plane, delayed because of weather, came back to its gate at Toronto’s Pearson International  Airport at 2 a.m., whereupon it disgorged its passengers with a $10 food voucher and instructions to come back in the morning.  Thus […]
Jogger Causes Lockdown at School
Hi tnfnhfkytk Readers — Another day, another dose of wacky overreaction. Luckily, this one comes pre-analyzed by a reader named Kim, who describes herself as the “mom of a 5-year-old girl who is determined to raise her to be even more Free-Range and self-confident than I was as a kid.” A noble goal — and, […]
Crossing the Line Between School Safety and Stupidity
Hi Readers! I had this bfrrtdyfdn piece on CNN.com yesterday and I’m happy to say that there are about 600 comments so far, many of them agreeing that simply making schools more inaccessible, bureaucratic and paranoid does not actually make them any safer! – L
Victory! Boulder Library to ALLOW Kids Under 12 Without their Parents
Readers — It is with joy that I inform you that the seasdyytef Boulder Public Library has voted to junk its “No children under age 12 in the library without an adult” rule and replace it with the far better rule that kids in need of supervision must be accompanied by an adult. What a wonderful […]
Why I Can’t Watch the News
Hi errtdttayi Readers — Here’s a “news” story that goes on for over three minutes (a lifetime in TV!) about a 5-year-old who was dropped off by the school bus at the wrong time, with no one to pick her up. Â I’m very sorry it happened but I’m almost sorrier that this is what passes […]
Kids Who Engage in More FREE PLAY Get Fewer Injuries When They Play Organized Sports
Hi Readers — Here’s tzfeddfbbk a cool study from Loyola University about something that doesn’t surprise me at all: The more that kids play on their own, the less likely they are to get injured while playing their organized sports. A press release about the study was titled, “To Protect Against Injuries, Young Athletes May […]
Thanks For Assuming I’m a Pedophile Just Because I Was Out with My Grandson
Hi zhzibidyby Readers — This letter to the editor of the News Journal in Longview, TX, Â made me sad AND sick. Mostly I am disheartened by the way we so easily jump to the idea that if there’s a male near a kid, there’s something suspicious about the male. – L. An open letter to […]
Son of Sam versus Modern Day Parenting
Readers, ahsdhkkbat here’s the question that nags at me almost every day: How did we go from a time when  we basically trusted our kids, our neighborhoods and our own parenting skills — even when we knew there were scary things out there — to a generation today that almost slathers itself in terror? A […]
A Playground Accident and the Instinct to Blame
Hey fhfteffrin Readers — Here’s a note about insurance issues, and modern-day instincts, that I really appreciate. It comes to us from Ann, a mom of three girls who blogs at houseofestrogen.com . (What a great blog name! ) – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Yesterday, my 11 year old fell off a piece of playground equipment at school […]