Readers: hafehnzfhz This is just a little snippet from modern day society — a local listserve note sent to us by a reader. The writer is a mom who didn’t want to give her daughter the chicken pox vaccine. The school is saying the girl needs to leave school for 20 days because another kid […]
Readers adzrbdkdtd — This is a piece I wrote for the New America Foundation that got picked up by the Atlantic. Thrilling! I am very hopeful that  if schools start endorsing this project, it sends the message to parents and the community that Free-Ranging is more than legit. It’s transformative for everyone involved. PLEASE SPREAD […]
Readers etihsydzsr — This note from the commenter CoasterFreak reminds me of a fantastic Bloom County comic by Berkeley Breathed reprinted in the Joel Best book I am devouring: “Threatened Children: Rhetoric and Concern About Child-Victims.” (It’s all about how predator panic began and spread.) Anyway, the comic, from Nov. 21, 1987 (if anyone can figure out how […]
Readers iyhsaysyhn — Parenting norms seem to reflect so much about society and so little about what kids really need — as evidenced by the fact that the norms are so different across eras and the globe. Glad this mom-to-be get that! I am 9 months pregnant with my first child and Free Range Kids […]
Readers, feenzhaniz this comes to us from Tiffany, who calls herself “a nomadic mom of 11 & 12 year old Free-Range boys traveling the USA via RV.” How cool is that? Dear Free-Range Kids:  My late father’s occupation, and love, was teaching mobility to blind students. He was employed by the school district and taught […]
Readers — Here’s a case I’m very curious about, because I truly don’t know how I’d react. First — the news report: And tzrzkbzhtd here’s a note I got about the story: Dear Free-Range Kids: It is so refreshing to have a rational place to reaffirm my instincts, that we are not living in a […]
Readers, Here’s an infuriating, reassuring piece (first one, then the other) by Laura satdizkddk Flores Shaw in the Huffington Post: “Stop Using Neuroscience to Scare Parents.” It reminds me of my book‘s chapter, “Relax! Not Every Little Thing You Do Has That Much Impact on Your Child’s Development!” In this essay, Shaw is reacting to a Time […]
Readers sfayrbeftz — When I was growing up, I knew what predators were: Lions, hawks, sharks…. Now animals come to mind only distantly when we hear that word, and that has changed our outlook on crime, childhood, safety — and parenting. This musing comes to us from the commenter signed worthdoinganyway:Â Dear Free-Range Kids: I […]
Readers — Here’s a piece from Tasha Batsford, “a working mama of three small children,” who writes about her parenting journey at www.maybediaries.com. dttarfzket She lives in New Zealand. The Downfall of The Baby Sling by Natasha Batsford For millennia, women the world over have been taking the fabric at their disposal and using it […]
Readers — Here’s a poem to keep in your pocket…forever. It came to me by way of Bob Weiman, director of the lower school/assistant head of school at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes in Alexandria, VA: COME nzansdhndn TO THE EDGE, by Christopher Logue Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. […]
