Hi New Yorkers! Today — Sun., Oct. 3 — is the “Ultimate Block Party” at the bandshell area in Central Park, from 11 till 5 (enter at 72nd and 5th). I know it sounds a little strange to say there will be booths and volunteers teaching kids about things as simple as playing “store,” or […]
The Pervert Lady in the Library
October 3, 2010
Hi niaeabtdrh Readers — This story makes me sad and sick but it doesn’t surprise me. The same thing is happening at playgrounds: No adults are allowed without a kid — as if every adult who LIKES or even LOVES kids must also want to MOLEST them. Good ol’ “worst first” thinking. Anyway, here’s the […]
Hooray for Australian Media! (And Especially The Sydney Morning Herald)
October 1, 2010
Hi Readers! The Australian media have been very keen on the Free-Range Kids story. I’ve done more than a dozen TV, radio and print interviews so far, Â but it wasn’t until this morning, when I was on a drive-time radio talk show, that I finally heard the words: “Oh, I could never let my child […]
Ho, Ho, Ho! Scarrrry Christmas!
September 30, 2010
Hi Folks — My friend, who is a magazine editor, is already compiling her December gift guide (of course), and one of the many products that just crossed her desk is this: A backpack with a built-in car alarm! Just pull the string and the thing starts shrieking. “Because,” my friend noted, “nothings says ‘Happy […]
The 7:30 Report
September 30, 2010
Okay, I won’t say, “G’day, Mates!” again, because apparently that is about as cool as going to Kentucky and hooting, “Yeehaw, Â y’all!” or, for that matter, arriving in New York and saying, “Greetings to my peeps!” (Unless, of course, one is greeting a cadre of small, marshmallow bunnies.) So hello from Australia where the food […]
G’Day, Mates!
September 29, 2010
Hi Readers! I’m down here in Australia to give a rkhtneefdf talk at the Festival of Dangerous Ideas at the Sydney Opera House this Sunday. Folks seem very interested in the idea of letting their kids enjoy a life outside the house. Yay! And more soon! — Lenore
Outrage of the Week: Boy Suspended for Lighter He Found on Way to School
September 28, 2010
Hi Readers — Like the headline says: A Jersey boy, 11, Â found a lighter on his way to school. Brought it in, another kid noticed it, by 8:40 a.m. he was suspended for the day. Why? Because the lighter, “has the potential to compromise student safety in this building,” according to the superintendent quoted in […]
Scootering Kids Replace Car Drop-Offs in London!
September 27, 2010
Hey Readers — Here’s one of those game-changers: A new, light, 3-wheeled kashbeefdz scooter called the Mini Micro is suddenly so popular in England that kids are abandoning their cars (well, their parents’ cars) and getting to school on kid-power instead.  As reports The Economist: The devices and their proliferating cheaper imitations have drawbacks. At school-run […]
The Saturdays (And Other Free-Range Books From the Past)
September 27, 2010
Hi atiikerysd Readers — A note from a reader who’s a reader, Linda Wightman, who blogs at Lift Up Your Hearts: Dear Free-Range Kids: I seem to be seeing everything through Free-Range eyes these days. I don’t know how old you are, but did you or your kids ever read Elizabeth Enright’s The Saturdays, The […]
(Bad) Advice from “All You” Magazine
September 26, 2010
Hi etbsaasibs Readers — This note is RIGHT ON! Dear Free-Range Kids: Â Just thought I’d let you know of this snippet from the most recent All You Magazine. It incensed me to the point of writing an email to the author scolding her for her “professional advice” (this column is written by “Relationship Expert” Nancy […]