Readers — I’m not going to make this a long post, because the craziness is pretty obvious and I think there will be an uproar against it. Suffice to say some Maryland ykzhyhahre schools have outlawed (at least for the moment) hugs, homemade cupcakes and parent volunteers pushing any child other than their own on the […]
Tag Archives | child safety
Disney Bans Kids Under 14 from Entering Its Parks Alone
Hi Readers – Out of the blue, Disney has declared that no individual under age 14 can enter its parks solo anymore. According zkehntrrtb to NBC News: The child’s parent or guardian would then be contacted if the visitor is underage, and that adult would need to physically come accompany the child into the park. Disney […]
I Let My 7-y.o. Sit on Our Stoop, Unsupervised. My Husband Said, “That’s Bad Parenting!”
Readers zhbhbezfaa — I was just on a radio show talking about  how we reflexively inflate the dangers facing children, and while I was on, this email came to Free-Range Kids. It  illustrates what I spend most of my waking hours dealing with: The belief that our kids are in constant danger, so only constant […]
Letting My Kids (Including the 3-year-old) Play Out of Sight
Hi zzyrhebysf Folks — This comes to us from a mom in Israel named Sorcha! Maybe your kids can have a weekend like hers! – L . Dear Free-Range Kids; I have 3 boys (10,7, 3) and since finding your blog a couple of years ago have been consciously trying to follow the Free-Range philosophy. Admittedly, this […]
Small Town to Lose Its Only Sledding Hill
Hi Readers — Paxton, a small town in Illinois, where the land is flat as flat can be, is about to lose its only sledding hill to the Abominable Insurance Man. So says Esquire: …The iikaktbatb Paxton Park District’s insurance provider ruled that its sledding hill is too risky. “The insurance would have skyrocketed if someone […]
Does Singing About Friendship & Self-Esteem Create Those?
Hi hzbyysnsan Folks – This piece about child friendship is fascinating to me. I’d love you to ponder what to me is the main point: Isn’t it easier to make a friend while working on something together (especially something big), than while simply talking about  friendship? A parallel thought: If you’ve ever taken a class […]
Helicoptered Kids More Depressed as Young Adults
Readers rtndtnbfdy — I don’t like hopping on every new study that supposedly “proves” something about parenting, especially when I believe that parents are only one part of the many, MANY influences that shape a life. (Especially by college age!) Still,this study might interest some parents reconsidering the heap of “help” they believe their kids […]
Dangerous Playground Structure Suddenly Not Dangerous
Hey Readers — You may recall this drdsskzrst post from two weeks ago about playground equipment purchased by a Fairfax, VA, PTA from a reputable manufacturer that was installed at a local grammar school over the summer and then suddenly declared “unsafe.” Since Nov. 30 it had been wrapped up in tape of every sort […]
The Way I Never Want to Think
Hi Readers! This came in response to the hfirrfdify post about a mom who unexpectedly left her 3-year-old alone at a table at Taco Bell for two minutes and got screamed at by the woman at the next table for “endangering” the child. “Please tell me I didn’t do something crazy,” wrote the mom. Most […]
Are Today’s Kids So Much More Delicate? Save the Dennis the Menace Train!
Hi Readers — One of you just sent edehsashfr this Facebook page about plans to stop letting kids play on this fabulous old locomotive located at the Dennis the Menace park in Monterey,California. The reasons? Take a guess. I’ve dropped a note to the activist running the FB page, haven’t heard back yet and wanted […]