As you read this, note that the mom who wrote this, Alisha, is herself a retired “paramedic/firefighter is very aware of what is truly dangerous and is tired of EVERYTHING being treated as such.” Me too. Not tired of precautions. Not tired of safety. Tired of seeing all of childhood through the lens of the worst possible thing that could happen in ANY everyday, normally pretty darn safe situation. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: So there is a big story going around all the mommy websites about kids choking to death on grapes. Apparently you are supposed to cut grapes…
Author: lskenazy
All animals play. It is how they learn. Young gazelles chase each other in what looks like a game of tag, even though by doing so, they are putting themselves at real risk: First, they are using up calories that they will have to replenish. Second, they are running around where predators can see them. Why would Mother Nature program them to do such a dangerous activity? Why is the need for play an INSTINCT? Because it must be even MORE valuable to the continuation of the species than simply staying “safe.” What gazelles — and ants, and bats, and…
Here is a cry for help — this dad’s and my own. I’m looking for someone to write a post or booklet on “How to Fight CPS” that is not a snarling screed (however cathartic), but filled with relevant laws, websites, and even phone numbers/emails that people can contact for legal help. Let me know if that’s something any of you feel up to producing, for zero monetary recompense. (The same way I write this blog!) — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m really at the end of my rope and I was hoping you could help. My family was contacted…
. In the wake of the San Bernardino shootings, the New York Times ran an article titled, “Fear in the Air, Americans Look Over Their Shoulders.” Really? Have we truly become convinced, as a country, that we are in CONSTANT danger? The writer culled his quotes from the NY Times’ query to the public: “How often, if ever, do you think about the possibility of a shooting in your daily life?” Naturally, the people who answered are those for whom this question resonates — many of them crippled by an all-consuming fear of random violence. But by running this piece,…
Readers — I’m traveling today and can’t eloquently express all my rage about what happened to this loving, rational mom. So let me just say that it is not fair to treat 6-year-olds who can open a car door as if they are salamanders or something, incapable of doing anything in the human world. Remember: The laws exist to deal with people who are doing something indisputably and incredibly dangerous, not people who happen to be raising their kids differently from the way you’d raise yours. And a shout out to Christy Gutowski at the Chicago Tribune for such thorough…
This is from Maria Hasankolli, the Connecticut mom who was arrested for oversleeping while her 8-year-old son got ready for school and started walking there on his own. She wrote it in the comments to yesterday’s post here about her. (Boldface mine.): I may be tossing a pebble in the pond here, but none-the-less; Lucan (my 8 yr old) is the youngest of six; 21,17,15,14,10, then him coming in at 8. All boys except our 10 yr old. I’ve raised them all the same. I’m not a coddler but I am a fabulous teacher. They are well versed in self…
Maria Hasankolli, the Connecticut mom who was arrested after police found her son, 8, walking to school while she overslept, had her court appearance yesterday. Here is what she wrote: So I just left court. I was informed that “risk of injury to a minor” (my charge) carries with it a ten year sentence, five thousand dollar fine, and five years probation. My case was continued to January 6th, 2016. Thank you all for your support and words of encouragement. I’ll keep you informed as I go. Perhaps someone reading is struggling my struggle and will find comfort knowing they’re…
. Just got this in the mail and had to share. And if you’re thinking about a holiday gift…here’s azdbbnzafr the link! – L. Ms. Skenazy, I’m a first time mom. I found your book on a whim. It’s the best thing I’ve ever read. And I was an English major/teacher so I’ve read a lot. Shakespeare, Vonnegut, Homer… I liked you better. While pregnant I read zero other parenting books. I only read yours. It gave me so much confidence as a new mom. Granted my son is only four months old so he won’t be playing outside unsupervised…
On Nov. 18, Maria Hasankolli of Wallingford, CT, came home in the early hours of the morning after visiting a relative at the hospital. She overslept while her 8-year-old stepson got himself ready for school — and missed his bus. The boy, Lucan, decided to walk to school on his own, two miles away, and was about halfway there when a business owner spotted him and called the cops. The cops drove Lucan to school, then went to his home, woke Hasankolli and clapped her into handcuffs. She was driven to the police precinct, had her mug shot taken, and…
. From what I’ve read — and seen in my own family — the best way to deal with an out-sized fear is to try to confront it, rather than “feed” it by more and more avoidance. And since, as a society, we have come to fear stranger-danger and kidnappings more than almost anything else vis yriaefdbka a vis our kids, I’m bummed by Dear Abby’s “solution” for the fearful mom below. Dear Free-Range Kids: This was today’s Dear Abby — see below. I just wanted to know how much of a problem having children snatched from their own beds…