Just one month ago, Flaco the owl was sprung from New York’s Central Park Zoo. Until then the Eurasian Eagle Owl had lived a very safe, sleepy life in, basically, a cozy 1BR apt w/ park vu. He had a tree to perch in, some rocks to, I don’t know, scratch? Bang his bored head against? And for sustenance he received the owl equivalent of Grub Hub — food delivered to him. Perhaps actual grubs. But when his mesh enclosure was snipped open by some miscreant on Feb. 2 (and I swear it wasn’t me), suddenly that spoon-fed, molly-coddled creature…
Author: lskenazy
This fall, just as Keith Kaplan was finishing up his first term as a Teaneck, NJ, Town Councilman, he proposed a Reasonable Childhood Independence bill. It states that when parents allow kids to perform age-old independent activities, like walking or playing outside, they are not guilty of “neglect” unless the kids are in obvious, serious and likely danger. For Kaplan, the bill is especially important. That’s because of an incident he witnessed involving his friends, their daughter, and the police. On Dec. 31, 2020, Kaplan received a text from friends who lived a few blocks away. They wanted to know…
A reader in Corpus Christi sent us this sign from her local library. It’s kind of hard to read, thanks to the glare (and I’m glaring myself!). But after warning that no children can be there during school hours — I guess homeschoolers should avoid the place? — it says that at all OTHER times: “Police may be called if a child under 15 is not accompanied by an adult or older sibling.” I understand that libraries are not free day care centers. But they aren’t strip clubs either. In fact, usually they are filled with books and other…
A very long study of about 1000 adults born in the ’50s and ’60s looked at how they were raised, and whether that upbringing had an impact on their longevity. The researchers found that folks who’d grown up overprotected were more likely to die before age 80 than, I guess, Free-Range Kids (now Free-Range Geezers). As reported in NeuroscienceNews.com: Men who had an overprotective father and little autonomy during childhood may run a 12% higher risk of dying before their eightieth birthday. In the case of women who had an overprotective father, the risk of dying before the age of…
Readers: What moves me other than trying to give some trust back to a country consumed by catastrophizing, especially when it comes to our kids? Light verse. Yes, had I not become “America’s Worst Mom,” my other pursuit may have won out. After all, I got my job at The New York Daily News by bombarding the editor with funny poems, and even wrote my American Intellectual History final in rhyme. So today, please indulge me as I shift focus and give you my: VALENTINE TO A SPONGE (AND OTHER LOVABLE EVERYDAY ITEMS) As Cupid’s favorite day draws near It’s…
A mom in Killingly, Conn., wrote to us a few months ago to tell us the story of Super Bowl Sunday, 2019: The day she and her husband let their kids, 7 and 9, walk to the local Dunkin Donuts about a mile from the house. The kids hadn’t gotten more than two or three blocks in this quiet town when the police came to this mom’s door to say her kids had been stopped. Why? Because they were “too young” to be out and about on their own, the cops said. You can read the whole story here. The…
Erika Christakis, early childhood expert and author of The Importance of Being Little, NAILS IT in her Atlantic essay on sleepovers. Noting that sleepovers have gone from age-old activity to yet another thing to fret about when it comes to kids, she says she’s sympathetic to the no-sleepover arguments. (Some of which have gone viral.) Feel free to ask about guns, swimming pools, who’s going to be home or what have you, she says. BUT: “Denying our children a chance to learn up close from other families shortchanges children’s autonomy.” So try not to sweat the smaller, simply sub-optimal stuff.…
Yes — we’ve got for you a simple, straightforward, LONG LIST of activities that don’t require a screen and can actually captivate normally pixilated kids. It’s over at Let Grow, where, frankly, we reprinted it from a website for teachers. Click here for the ideas and funny commentary by author Terry Heick, even as you’re telling your kids to get their shoes and coats on. (Or not! They can play outside however they like!) Many of the ideas are just as simple as can be, but they’re hard to remember when your kids are whining. (Even harder than remembering why…
At Let Grow, the nonprofit that grew out of Free-Range Kids and is working to make childhood independence easy, normal and legal, we got a beautiful letter from three siblings whose mom recently passed. Here it is: Dear Let Grow, When my mom passed away last month, my brother, sister, and I spent a lot of time thinking of her influence on our lives. My mother graduated as a nurse in the WAC (Women’s Army Corps) as WWII was ending, so without a need to serve, she went right into marriage and raising 4 kids. My siblings and I had…
At last! A really simple, fun, and, of course, FREE plan of action for anyone who’d like to start giving their kids a little more independence (and responsibility/adventure/joy). Sign this “pledge” and each week Let Grow will email you an “Action Card” with some easy-but-profound task for you, your child, or both of you to do. Things like, “Try leaving your entire arsenal of supplies — snacks, wipes, Band Aids, money — at home for an outing.” That’s to recognize that we don’t NEED to be prepared for everything. Or, “Have your kid go into a store to break a…