The remains of Jacob Wetterling have been found in Minnesota. Jacob was abducted in 1989 at age 11 in a case that scared, scarred and deeply saddened people around the globe. As his mother Patty texted to the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Saturday: “Our hearts are broken. We have no words.” The Star-Tribune explained that: Jacob was snatched off his bike, half a mile from his home, by a masked man with a gun on a dark October night. Danny Heinrich, a suspect first questioned shortly after Jacob’s disappearance and now in federal custody on child pornography charges, gave investigators…
Author: lskenazy
“A Fargo mom is telling local parents to watch out after an incident at a local grocery store,” intones the anchor. The incident? (And remember my warning about the word incident: Every time you hear it, it means that NOTHING HAPPENED. Otherwise it would be a “crime” or “mauling” or “deadly spider attack.” Incident = excuse to warn about something, period.) Anyway, the “incident” in question was a grocery trip during which the mom got the feeling that maybe she and her daughter were being stalked because…another couple kept ending up in the same aisle as them. As she told…
Throughout most of history and to this day in some of the world, children learned the great lessons they needed to know — survival, stories, how to gut a goat — without going to school. Often they weren’t even “taught.” The assumption was that kids were naturally curious and would learn by watching, imitating, trying, and being expected to help out. In this piece in the Wall Street Journal, Alison Gopnik wonders how come we have such a dim view of our kids that we assume they are less curious and competent than any earlier generation. It begins with Gopnik,…
In this clip, Dr. Oz interviews a 5-year-old who saved the life of her mom and baby brother, then explains that this girl was empowered by her parents’ lesson: If you ever need help, find a STRANGER. Great advice. The girl climbed out of the car that had tumbled 40-feet down an embankment and knocked her mom unconscious. (Here’s the mom talking about the accident.) Then the little girl flagged down help. (Feel free to compare and contrast with the Utah Boy Scout taught never to talk to strangers who ended up stranded in the woods for three days because…
Our Moral Judgement Influences How Dangerous We Believe The Situation Is *** America is experiencing a bizarre disconnect between real and perceived danger when it comes to kids. But why? . Why are we arresting moms for putting their kids in “danger” for doing the things our own moms did without anyone batting an eye, like letting us walk to school, or play outside, or wait at home a short while? Recall that just about a week ago a mom was arrested for letting her kids, 8 and 9, wait at the condo for under an hour while she went…
Danielle Meitiv, the Free-Range mom investigated by Child Protective Services twice for the unconscionable crime of letting her kids walk home from the park in Silver Spring, Maryland, has a new paranoid entity to deal with: The Montgomery County School District. Starting this year, every parent who wants to volunteer, even for a one-shot deal like a party, must undergo mandatory training in child abuse recognition. I guess that way, when they’re handing out cupcakes they can also quickly and accurately identify all those terrible parents who deserve a knock on the door from CPS. As Danielle wrote in an…
This kid reminds me of another young man who took the subway and proved that the world is a lot less dangerous than we are lead to believe:
This situation is so infuriating, I am at a loss for advice to give that doesn’t involve hissing. Maybe you have some? Dear Free-Range Kids: My daughter “M” just started 3rd grade at a school she has attended since preschool. It has 200 students K-8 so everyone knows everyone. There is one main building that has a field surrounded by a fence and then sidewalks that lead to the parking lot. . Last year after lots of debate, signing a waiver, and basically being told I was a bad mom, the teacher finally agreed to allow M to be released…
I can abide by most of these rules…except the alpaca thing.
No Child Left Alone: Getting the government out of parenting is the seriously great title of a new (and first!) book by journalist Abby Schachter. It begins with this story: Do you want to see government operating as if it can and should raise your kids for you? Try enrolling your child in state-licensed daycare. When our eldest daughter was 18 months old and started at the local preschool, the intrusion into our fami ly’s decisions started almost immediately with strict rules about which foods I could send from home and how I should prepare and portion fruits and vegetables.…