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…
Author: lskenazy
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…
What did 2022 do to parents who were just trying their best? It scared, scarred and disheartened them — and once it a while it really cheered them up! Herewith, The 10 Worst Free-Range Stories of 2022 — and one REALLY great one! STRANGER DANGER, PART 1 The Lower Merion school district outside of Philadelphia cancelled all six of its elementary schools’ parades because, “Just the thought of having an entire school population of young children in a field surrounded by adults that we couldn’t possibly screen was worrisome,” said the district’s community relations director. Yes — kids near any…
This remarkable report on the KQED website unpacks the problem that’s hard to ignore: Today’s young people suffering from depression, anxiety, immaturity — and what might be called the life-blahs. Actually, that’s a pretty depressing term. Let’s NOT call it the life-blahs. But it does make sense to look at what cultural forces could be undermining our kids’ confidence and good cheer (besides the past three years of COVID-related sorrow). And that’s what author Holly Korbey does. She makes a compelling case, summed up in her headline, that: Young adults are struggling with their mental health. Is more childhood independence…
What happens when a little kid picks up a honking HUGE stick at preschool on the playground? The adults in charge have to think quick! This one did: Dana Frantz Bentley, a Lesley University professor of early childhood education: If you’d like to see more free play — and trust — at your own child’s school, take a look at the Let Grow Play Club materials you’ll find here. If your school starts a Play Club, kids will get lots of experience solving problems, making things happen and having fun! (And a bruise here and there.)
Welcome to the bottom of the barrel! That’s where we find ourselves in this particular FoxNews’ segment (see below), as the anchor casts about for some reason — even a completely amorphous, garbled reason — to foment what Prof. Harold Hill called “MASS-TERIA!” And yet — he is foiled! As you’ll see, Hadley Heath Manning of the Independent Women’s Forum, deftly defends Free-Range / Let Grow parenting…and all parents. Sunnily she pivots from the hoary, “But couldn’t something bad happen…?” to remind the host that what kids need is someone who loves them and sets some boundaries. No one needs…