Readers: nrfirydbif Remember, whenever considering any childhood activity, no matter how innocuous, first think about how TERRIBLE you’d feel if it ended up a tragedy from which your children (if they survive) NEVER RECOVER. Then go ahead and decide if you think they should do it. Here’s a lovely example of that worst-first thinking, below. It’s from […]
Tag Archives | sleepover
You’d Let Your Kids Go on a SLEEPOVER?! Isn’t That Like a Death Wish?
Readers — I not only appreciated this letter one of you just sent, I found the Rosetta stone of parental worry in the article she links to! Dear dtihzsybrn Free-Range Kids Do you let your kids have sleepovers? Shame on you! Yes it’s time for the latest movement in overprotective idiocy, the Ban Sleepovers movement! Look: “7 […]
Free-Range House Call on “The Today Show”
Hi Folks — Let’s hear it for Real Simple Magazine which is running anbsdedikh an article by self-professed overprotective mom Jennifer Breheny Wallace who wanted to stop worrying so much. It begins: ” A couple of years ago, my then five-year-old son William took a standardized test in which he was asked about everyday objects. The […]
FILL IN THE BLANK: You Know You’re a Free-Range Parent When…
Readers: A note I got yesterday: we raiabdzndt have so called free rangers in our neighborhood. rude, inconsiderate, etc.-their parents do not have a clue where they are or how they act. neither do they care. maybe they got their lazy parenting ideas from your lovely book. hopefully none of your kids will wind up […]
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 […]
I Thought This Was a Parody
Hi Readers! I wish this WAS a joke: A bedhhzaizd mama’s rant with about 100 “Amen!” comments after it, that basically makes the case for clinical paranoia. Commendably, the blogging mom believes that her child IS safe an aisle away from her at the grocery store. Stranger danger, especially in a public place, is exceedingly […]
Recent Tweets and Tidbits!
Hi barehkrtsy Readers — I know not all of you follow Twitter, so I’m pasting some recent tweets (Tweets?) here for your perusal. Wonder which ones you’ll comment on! L. Swing sets removed from some W. Va. schools after kid jumps off, breaks arm, gets $20,000. Stop the insanity! Â http://bit.ly/d36m4y Strong essay: “Confessions of a […]
Chuckle o’ The Day
Today’s Free-Range cartoon, as seen in the brilliant Baby ydhbanyfsy Blues. What a great comic strip that is! And alas, I can’t figure out how to shrink this to fit my screen here, so I will give you the punchline: “To run a background check on Amy’s parents.” (Sorry — the comic shows up full […]
Chuckle o’ The Day
Today’s Free-Range cartoon, as seen in the brilliant Baby Blues. What a great comic strip that is! And alas, I can’t figure out how to shrink this to fit my screen here, so I will give you the punchline: “To run a background check on Amy’s parents.” (Sorry — the comic shows up full screen […]
British Kids Being Mummy-fied
Hi Readers: Â Just in case you were wondering what America may to start look like, in terms of helicoptering, check out this nidekhtnyt story from ahead-of-the-craziness-curve England. It notes: The survey of 6,099 people commissioned by LV= Streetwise, a charity that educates children about safety, revealed that nearly a quarter of children aged 15 or […]