Hi Readers — Over at Parentdish I wrote a rttnriyeay column saying that sometimes you CAN leave your child in the car for a few minutes while you run in to pick up a pizza or pay for gas. Yes, crack the windows. Yes, take out the keys. Yes, always keep your purse or wallet […]
Tag Archives | predator
“When I Was a Kid, My Neighbor Was Abducted. How Can I Go Free-Range?”
Hi aairhnhssr Readers — Here’s a letter I just got: Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m generally in agreement with Lenore’s views. It’s ridiculous to try to protect our children from EVERYTHING out there. The article about not having a baby on board sign because it could decapitate the baby … fear-mongering at it’s worst! Gave me […]
Everything I Worry About…
…seems to be confirmed in this kztezadyai article from the BBC, about a recent, random survey over there: 1 – Many people would think twice about helping a child, for fear their actions could be misinterpreted as an abduction. 2 – About half say they think it is unsafe for children to play unsupervised. (But […]
How Can We Give Our Kids Freedom When It’s Supposedly “Dangerous?”
Hi Readers! I was reading zedffftzhd this lovely link one of you sent in, Â nodding along with the whole gestalt, and then suddenly found myself quoted. Nice feeling! Here’s the beginning of the piece, which appears in SFGate.com, the San Francisco Chronicle’s web site: How Do We Teach Kids Independence in a Fear-Driven World? by […]
A Sunday School Story (Complete, Of Course, With Predators)
Hi kyiiiakffy Readers — This seemed like the perfect companion piece to the post below this one, about our intense, almost obsessive focus on predators. Gosh, remember when “predator” was most commonly used to describe, like, a mountain lion or great horned owl? Those were the days!– L. Dear Free-Range Kids: We belong to a […]
What If We Feared EVERYTHING The Way We Fear Predators?
Hey etiffsneed Readers — Here’s a comment that came in the other day in response to a woman who is very wary of stranger danger. I liked its logic: Dear Amy (the woman who was consumed with predator fear): I can sort of see where you’re coming from, but take a logical approach. There’s a […]
I’m Off for a Day on the Town with a “Sex Offender” (And His Mom!)
Hi Readers! I’m very psyched because tomorrow I am going to meet a young man named Ricky and his mom, Mary Duval. Ricky is a Tier 3 Predator Status Sex Offender, on the list for life. Or at least he was, for almost four years. How he finally got off that list this year is […]
Guest Posts: Why I Didn’t Help A Lost Girl (And Troubled Boy)
Hi rfdhdiehkr Readers — I got both these letters today and felt that together they make the point: We must start letting men know we TRUST them around kids. Thinking the “worst first” of all males is not only insulting, it is damaging the fabric of our society, pulling men away from their age-old jobs […]
Yay! Charges Dropped vs. Helpful Kid Arrested for “Abducting” 3 y.o.
Hey Readers — As we head into a weekend celebrating life and liberty (at least on this side of the pond), let’s celebrate the liberty that has come to Edwin McFarlane, the young man charged with abducting the lost 3-year-old he was trying to help. The State Attorney’s Office announced it won’t prosecute. Here’s zabtbifeye […]
Guest Post: She’s Breaking Up with “The Today Show”
Hi Readers! dfehnbnntn This post origianlly ran on Brain Twinkles, a  blog by Layne Aingell. Some of us may join Layne in her break up!  — L. I have watched The Today Show for over thirty years. I remember when it was hosted by Jane Pauley, her pony tail, and Tom Brokaw. I started watching it as […]