Tag Archives | kids outside

Hey -- where did all the kids go?

The Lonely Refrigerator

Just a thought about a cultural artifact: Dear bsyahsfheh Free-Range Kids: As I walked my dog this evening, I saw that my neighbors had placed an old refrigerator on their lawn with a “free” sign attached to it.  At first I thought, “Those doors need to be removed!”  or “Those doors need to be chained […]

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Arrest all the moms? Or try to bring back an era when we trusted each other?

We Weren’t Always Obsessed with Child Abduction

Here’s a photo from Britain, where it was once absolutely common to let your kids wait in their buggies while you went shopping. Isn’t it odd the way what’s normal in one era seems nutty in another, even though the world has not changed that much — just our perceptions of it? (Here are some […]

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Wouldn't you like your kids to be doing this tomorrow? With a lot of other kids?

Without Some Risk, Playgrounds Bore Kids

. How do you get kids back outside — and, incidentally, revitalize narcoleptic neighborhoods? You bring in risk. This zktriizthe New Zealand playground was designed to give kids a lot more “wheee” — or maybe “aghhh!” — for the buck. More than 6000 children contributed to the early stages of the playground’s development through the BNZ […]

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You're never alone, with a phone.

It Used to be Lonely for Kids INSIDE. Now It’s the Reverse

. This post comes from Mollie Shaw, a friend, frequent commenter, and Free-Ranger who is a writer and marketing consultant in British Columbia. Maybe it will resonate for you the way it did for me: Dear idhenrhyeh Free-Range Kids: I can remember feeling lonely as a young child in the 1970s.  I have vivid recollections of […]

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Some day we'll look back at this era in astonishment.

How to Get Your Kids Used to Playing Outside

. An article on how to get your kids to play outside would have seemed like an Onion headline back when…well, back anytime before The Onion. I was a bookworm and I still spent a ton of time outside. My kids, not so much. If you want to get your own offspring outdoors for any […]

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This mom let her kids play in the fenced-in backyard. Child Protective Services came to investigate.

Kids Play in Backyard While Mom Does Dishes. An Investigation Ensues

. I’m thrilled and worried when these zazynidfin stories make the news (via CTV): A Winnipeg mom was doing the dishes while her three kids, 10, 5 and 2 , played in their fenced-in backyard. A neighbor called to report “unattended” kids frolicking and Jacqui Kendrick was visited by a child protective services rep. The […]

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