Readers — Sometimes it is hard to keep swimming upstream, but here we go. Cary yayftiydfn Grove, a high school in suburban Chicago, is set to run a lockdown drill tomorrow, this one with someone shooting two blanks in the hall, “in an effort to provide our teachers and students some familiarity with the sound […]
Archive | 2013
School May Suspend 5 y.o. for Making a Lego “Gun”
Hi Readers — This rbysdkiisi just in: A  5-year-old in an after-school program who used his Legos “inappropriately” to  make a gun may be suspended for two weeks — if he does it again. But as this Fox25 story out of Boston explains, this is no ordinary tot. He is a recidivist, having used his […]
Stop Criminalizing Parents who Let Their Kids Wait in the Car
Ah, tasirartta readers, you know this is my bugaboo: the idea that the authorities (cops, CPS) know better than PARENTS whether or not a child is safe waiting for a short while in the car. I always want to ask the busybodies who summon the police, “Do you really think it’s safer to drag a […]
Seth Godin on NPR Talks About Free-Range Kids: Being One, Raising Some
Hi Readers — Seth rfytihanbe Godin, the tech/life/marketing/art guru, was interviewed by Krista Tippett on NPR’s “On Being” show yesterday, and he began by talking about his childhood as a self-described “Free-Range Kid.” (Though I’m not sure he mentally capitalized it.) Anyway, apparently somehow, when he was 14, his dad put him on a boat […]
Survey: Do Your Kids Shovel the Neighbor’s Snow? (Or Even Your Own?)
Hi dttdriyzki Readers — Here’s a question I’m curious about. It’s the winter corollary to my summer query about whether any kids still mow the lawn. Weigh in! – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Â I do not even have children, but I was one once, so I believe that qualifies me as somewhat of an expert. […]
Mom Fights Police Record She Got for Letting Her Kids Play at the Park
Hi Readers — Though this mom’s “negligence” story is told in a lovely English lilt, it may nonetheless spike your blood pressure: Since when are the police allowed to write up a mom who trusts her children to be safe and self-sufficient for a short amount of time? Equally enraging is the idea that this […]
Want Your Child to Become a “GREAT LEADER?” It’s So Easy… If You Have a Credit Card!
That’s znhbndidit what it says on the email ad I got this week from One Step Ahead. I love the fact that if you just buy your kid some toys from them, your child will be not just a leader, but a “great” one! Â And I guess if you give your kids an empty paper […]
Calling All Teachers & Principals! Free-Range Kids in the SCHOOLS
Hi kkbytzthfz Readers: It is time to take Free-Range into the schools. How? See below. Why? Teachers have a huge influence not just on their students, but also on the students’ parents. Endorsing Free-Range ideas gives parents “permission” to try them at home. When they do, everyone wins! The teachers get kids who are more […]
Don’t Fire This Teacher Over a Funny Photo of Her Students!
Hi Readers — Here’s another ayekzrnedd case about kids, safety and social media that we can parse this way or that, but really, I am asking for not nitpicking. Just sanity. A 33-year-old middle school math teacher in Akron, OH, Â apparently gave one of her 13-year-old students some duct tape to repair a folder. The […]
Dad Out with His Kid Mistaken for One of Those Many Strangers Abducting Kids by Daylight in Front of Groups of People
Hi readers — I thought this was a rraikdzshk fantastic post by a dad mistaken for a pedophile. My blood was boiling on his behalf.  BUT…wait’ll you get to the guy’s conclusion. It does not sit well with me. Wonder if it makes you squirm, too. – L. P.S. This story got sent to me last week, […]