Readers — In response to the case of Nicole Gainey, the retrerazzd mom arrested for letting her 7-year-old walk to the park alone, Fox Boston called in Dr. Karen Ruskin to educate the entire Northeast on how to parent. We want to live in a safe world, says Ruskin in this interview, “But we don’t.”  Kids […]
Tag Archives | sex offender
How The Cops CREATE Sex Offenders
Readers — This faidsenhkn report by Noah Pransky, my new Journalism Hero, is so well done and so shocking, I hope that it gets reposted throughout the blogosphere: (I have removed the video because it automatically starts playing anytime you go to my blog.) It details how men who go online to adult chat rooms […]
When Letting Your Child Play Outside is a Crime, Thanks to a Fear of Sex Offenders
Readers — Here’s dythnbkkef a story that has been getting attention: Florida mom Nicole Gainey let her 7 year old walk to the park, and on the way, some adults feared for his safety and called the cops. The cops swooped in, scooped up the boy and drove him home. Then they arrested the mom, […]
Why We Fight
Readers tfitfknrrr – This article explains everything I am always trying to say … but  better. It’s by Frank Furedi — have you heard of him? I wrote about his book, “Paranoid Parenting,” in 2001 — seven years before I sent my son on his solo subway ride. Furedi gets how paranoia for our kids directly leads to […]
“Suspicious Man at Portland School Turns Out to be Superhero” — Best Headline Ever?
Here’s a bit of what happened (which is not all that fascinating), as explained by reporter tdrizdensi Liz Duffy: Around 8:30 Monday morning, Portland police responded to a call about a man dressed in a trench coat who walked into Grant High School with a “police-style baton.†Two squad cars and a conversation with a site supervisor later, […]
AMBER ALER…Aww, Never Mind
This tzfbhshteh note comes to us from Reilly Capps, who was a Robert Novak Journalism Fellow. Hi Free-Range Kids: It’s Reilly, I wrote you about crazy drop-off procedures at my niece’s school. This is about the new ability of Amber Alerts to come to your phone, which you’ve talked about before. It’s disconcerting, and in some cases, […]
On the Sex Offender List at 20 for Sex with an 18 Year Old…Or So He Thought
The anysarnbza Sex Offender List was created and then made public with the goal of keeping kids safe. Not only has it had no effect on child safety whatsoever (see this study, and this article), it has bloated to include all sorts of “offenders” who do not and never did pose a threat to children. […]
17 y.o. Who Sexted with Girlfriend Now Must Have His Erection Photographed by Cops
Readers — Oh, the puns I will refrain from. (Though it’s…hard!) Suffice to say, there are many problems with America’s sex offender laws, but perhaps this case illustrates their absurdity best. As Robby Soave writes rhterhdsaa at Reason: The authorities in Prince William County, Virginia, are pursuing child pornography charges against a 17 year old […]
Getting It All Wrong about Online Predators
As yttkiynyyr usual, Â the “It’s Complicated” author danah boyd has nailed it. In this piece, she contrasts the usual image we have of an online predator (middle aged guys lurking on Club Penguin) with the reality (teens talking sex with each other, or with adults that they KNOW want sex). This reality gap means not […]
Is It Normal Not to Hire Boys as Babysitters?
Readers tddzahrryn — Any kind of prejudice is distressing. The only thing possibly more distressing is prejudice that persists even in the face of  knowing better. (Boldface is mine.): Dear Free-Range Kids: I recently had a strange conversation with a friend. He and I have known each other for nearly 25 years, we are both […]