Hi Folks — This eyhtefbrtb story comes to us from Australia, where the federal government is telling child protective workers to consider — and classify — kids who “often” hurt themselves as at a “high risk of neglect.” “Accident-prone children might be the victims of poor parental supervision,” is how AdelaideNow sums the reasoning up. […]
Welcome to the New, Improved Free-Range Kids Site!
Hi Folks! Well, it only took me about two years longer than I’d hoped (okay…three), but here at last is the new Free-Range Kids site. Allow me to point out some wonderful features (besides the ads, which are a first for me! Don’t hate on them — making a living is good!) Our tour begins […]
Want to Help Out at a Class Party? All You Need to do is Get Fingerprinted!
Hi Folks! Here’s a school memo one of you sent in from the Brave New World that thinks somehow every time any adult encounters a child — even in a classroom filled with other adults and a gaggle of kids — the kids are in grave danger: Wiggle aidbftnika those digits If you attended volunteer training […]
Parents Trailing the School Bus (and Other Back-to-School Excesses)
Hi Folks! I have a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal:“When ezfndnekyr Separation Anxiety Goes Overboard.” It’s about the way the advice-o-sphere manages to turn the first day of school into a super-dramatic, super-traumatic event that requires the kind of preparation once associated with storming the beaches: “Practice how you will say goodbye,” urges one of the […]
Can We Vote for This Guy? (Even Though He’s 9?)
Hey Readers — You want inspiration? You got it: A 9 year old Detroit boy was dismayed by the fact his local park was totally overgrown — the city could afford to mow it just twice a year. So did he stay inside playing videogames? He set up a lemonade stand and made $3000 over […]
She Looked Up and Her 2-year-old Wasn’t There
Hi bhdiknfyei Folks! This is a good one to take to heart…and to the playground. — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve known for a while that Free-Range is a great way to raise confident, independent, capable kids, but I never knew how much this approach would help me as a parent until last night. I […]
“Only Bad Parents Make Their Kids WALK to School”
Hi htrfzfdiyf Folks! I read this over at RixaRixa and asked if the blogger was game to let me reprint the whole thing. Yes! So here it is, in all its infuriating bureaucrat-brained fullness! We’ve been walking Zari to and from kindergarten. It seemed the most logical of our three options (walk, ride the bus, […]
Shameless Purell
From the Purell e-mail blast I just got: Your teyfarzknd little ones are headed back to school and so are millions of germs! Â I’m leaving aside all the nasty things I want to say about how we are MADE of germs and must get ACCUSTOMED to germs and when did start treating everyday life […]
You Read it Here First: The Deaf Pre-Schooler Story
Hi Readers! Just had to crow. The ietbdhshib story about Hunter, the deaf pre-schooler who was told to change his name because it violated the school’s anti-gun policy, was sent to us by a gal in Hunter’s neck of the woods — Nebraska — on Monday night, which is when I posted and tweeted  it. […]
“Hunter,” a Deaf 3-Year-Old, Told Signing His Name Violates School’s Gun Policy
Hi bnskribnky Folks! Â This is perhaps the most absurd story ever reported here — and that’s saying a lot! A reader named Rachel writes: A Deaf child named Hunter is not allowed to use his name sign because the sign for “Hunter” (a dictionary word) uses the thumb and first two fingers in a gun […]