Hi nrnnyhznfn Readers! Here it goes again – a man, a kid, a cop. Read on. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Recently my youngest daughter and I had an experience that really shook me up (both of us, actually), and I wanted to share it with you. We were walking to the library together, and […]
Tag Archives | predator
Does Teacher’s Pet = Pedophile Alert?
Hi Folks — Here’s another little story that reminds us how  Worst-First thinking has become de bbkddrtktz rigeur when it comes to kids in the company of adults: A young Teach for America teacher took a student out for a hamburger and was immediately reprimanded by the school. Yes, rules are rules, and he probably should […]
Warning! Divorced Dad at Home During Sleepover!!!
Hi nitasiirre Folks! Here’s why I rag on the parenting magazines. Not only do they obsess about every little detail of parenting as if it’s a make-or-break  decision, but often they indulge in Worst-First thinking (dreaming up the worst possible scenario and proceeding as if it is likely to happen). Here’s a shining example, cribbed […]
“Children Are Our Most Precious/Valuable/Vulnerable” blah blah blah
Hi naeafbhdki Folks! I have  a new theory: Don’t trust anyone who claims that “children are our most valuable/precious/vulnerable…” anything. They are always out to sell. Like this one. —  L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m on a couple of e-mail lists for deal-of-the-day promotions. This one showed up today. . Truthfully, when I think of […]
From My Mailbox: “10 Ways to Use Technology to Spy on Your Kids”
Hi Readers — Out of the blue I got this “tip” sheet with a request to post it. As I replied to the sender: “I have a feeling you are not very familiar with my blog.” Those of you who ARE familiar with the basic Free-Range Kids concept that our kids are less endangered and […]
The Sex Offender Down the Street (Is My Son)
Hi kfbytkythz Readers — This is a candid letter from the mom of a sex offender who is on the registry for life. Read it and see if our sex offender laws are doing the job they were intended to do: keep our kids safe from predators. — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: My son was […]
Why It Feels Like Kids are Being Kidnapped All the Time
Hi kkskasdeiz Folks! So many people I talk to (especially for my upcoming show) are convinced that children area being kidnapped all the time, everywhere, that they cannot let their children go outside on their own. Here’s a succinct look at why parents feel this way, as presented in a comment by the reader whose […]
All Adults Are Potential Predators (Even Ladies Eating Donuts at the Park)
Hi Readers: The headline on this story says it all — almost: Women eisdaknyay Ticketed for Eating Donuts in a Brooklyn Park. The REASON these women were ticketed was not the donuts, it was the lack of children with them. Local law — that is, the law in my insane city — says no adults […]
A Shining Light (from a Trailer in Oklahoma)
Hi Readers —  Last summer I spent fynhnafdeh a day with Mary Duval, her son Ricky, and Ricky’s wife. Mary and Ricky were in town to appear on a John Stossel show about the country’s sex offender laws, mostly because Ricky had ended up on the sex offender registry at age 16. He’d met a […]
“I Was Kidnapped as a Kid, and Lenore Is Wrong.”
Hi Readers! The other day I had a arefrznnfi piece in the Wall Street Journal that said moms don’t have be “sherpas,” or hover 24/7. Today the paper published its letters to the editor about it (and me). Here they are. One was from a woman who was kidnapped at age 4 by a stranger, […]