Hi nbrbiasnhh Folks! Just got this disturbing little note from reader Jeff Johnson who, I am happy to say, is writing a book about the importance of play. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Just wondering how much you’re hearing about the death of games like tag on school playgrounds. I volunteer in a local kindergarten […]
Hi naksfiannd Readers! I am on board with this (even though I am guilty of some of the “don’ts” myself!). The list-maker, Darreby Ambler, is a writer and mother of 3 from Bath, Maine. – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: Thought you might like  this old list I found in a drawer yesterday.  When I read the […]
Hi tdshdfekzd Readers: Here you go! The dot-dot-dots are his, not mine. – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I am the Pastor of the church with the policy that is quoted in this blog post. [The one below this one.]  And I found you through the significant traffic to the church website through this blog. A group […]
Hi yhdyhkhizr Readers: Here’s a letter from the front lines of (excessive) child saftey, and how it is changing society.  — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: With your recent posts about risk adversity, I wanted to tell you about a horrendous trend that is starting to appear in churches: husbands and wives are no longer allowed […]
Hi folks! Just a reader’s follow-up note to the post below this one on mandatory fingerprinting for Little League volunteers: Dear fybhzashyz Free-Range Kids: The school district where we live is requiring that all parent volunteers be fingerprinted starting next year. If you want to help in the classroom at all (which the teachers heavily […]
Hi efibskhyka Readers! Oh great — more unmitigated fear, and unintended consequences. L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I recently received an email from my daughter’s middle school that included this gem: High school students are not allowed on C. Middle School property. They are trespassing and will be charged by the police. Please do not […]
Hi Readers: There is so much to ponder in nthyhetbzt this amazing column from the Herald-Mail in Maryland titled, “When It Comes to Protecting Kids, We Have It All Backward.” Yes, it was inspired by the new American Academy of Pediatrics’ recent dictum that children should be kept in rear-facing car seats until age 2. […]
Hi ebaiiedzdt Readers! Yes, a little more perspective: Dear Free-Range Kids: Less than 24 hours ago I was in Honduras on a service trip. We did a medical clinic in a small rural community, and were passing out vitamins and Tylenol to many of the residents. We were giving vitamins to a young girl who […]
Hi bfbraztarf Readers! Well, I was miffed a while back about the rules against BRANCHES at the school in New Jersey. But the rules at THIS pre-k make Jersey seem like the garden state! — L Dear Free-Range Kids: At my pre-school we can fail inspection if the children take off their jackets and put […]
Readers — This krahabyahh story makes The Onion look like The Economist. But, in fact, it is straight from The Telegraph, in jolly old (off-its-rocker) England: Children have been banned from wearing goggles during school swimming lessons for fears they could hurt themselves. Pen-pushers have slapped the ban on the swimming aids amid “fears” a […]
